The Future Of Trunks: Journey To New Namek
by Scott Mathus
Summary: With Earth recovering from the destruction caused by Majin Buu, Trunks sets out alone to find New Namek. Once there, he intends to find the Dragon Balls and bring back all those lost in the battle on Earth... starting with Shell.
1. Chapter 1: Picking Up The Pieces

Chapter 1: Picking Up The Pieces

It was another clear, beautiful day on the Kai Planet. The Kai Temple stood as a monolith in itself in the endless green plains of the planet. Inside, the Supreme Kai had retired to his own personal chambers in the Northern Wing.

"My lord," a servant said lowly, as he pushed open a large, creaking door into Shin's quarters. "My lord, there is a group of guardians on tour today. It is customary that you give the tour details to such honored guests."

"Yes," Shin answered without turning around. "Yes, I will be there momentarily."

"Yes, my lord," his servant answered and left.

Shin concentrated hard. Somewhere distant, he could sense another conflict rising in the universe. It was hard to tell what was causing it, but he was sure with time, the problem would certainly present itself. However, strangely enough, he could not sense Trunks' presence on Earth. He decided he would meditate on it later, and left his room.

"Honorable guests," Shin welcomed as he arrived in the Great Hall. "I am the Supreme Kai, and I welcome you all here today to this sacred temple. You are all very privileged to be here today, and I'm sure you will thoroughly enjoy your visit. This tour of all the sacred relics and epic conflicts throughout the universe should prove both enlightening and exciting. With the help of the other Kais I have brought together a sacred memorial for all those who have fought throughout the millennia in the name of good. I trust you will all enjoy, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

The Supreme Kai led his small army of guardians from various realms around the temple, explaining artifacts and details of hundreds of historical occurrences throughout the history of time. With a question here and a question there, Shin was more than happy to entertain, as he took a keen amount of pride in his abode and passion for history. After a well-rounded trip, the Supreme Kai and his guests approached the last point of interest on the tour.

"Now if you'll all follow me through this door," Shin began, "I'll show you an amazing artifact."

They all followed the Supreme Kai's lead through the small door and gathered around an altar dedicated to the Z Sword. With them all in, the Supreme Kai closed the door, and moved around the room, his eyes never leaving his audience as he spoke.

"This, my friends," he explained, "is a most amazing treasure. This is the legendary Z Sword, the sword of the Kais. Long ago it was forged to wage war on the forces of evil, specifically, the monster called Majin Buu. Only a hero worthy of carrying the sword may wield it, and to one with an evil heart, its very touch will burn their flesh. Actually, my friends, it was used in the battle against Majin Buu quite recently. I had the honor and privilege of witnessing the battle firsthand. A warrior from the planet Earth wielded the sword in the battle and vanquished the monster Majin Buu, in an epic battle on his home planet. The entire universe may be in debt to that hero, and his story will surely be retold throughout the centuries here on the Kai Planet."

Shin paused for a moment to gleam at his audience, but noticed they all bore very confused and concerned looks. After a second of mind reading, the Supreme Kai looked behind him to find an empty altar.

Millions of miles away from Earth, a small spacecraft floated silently through the deep reaches of space. Of course it wasn't a tiny ship either. A sleek vessel, it was designed to crew as many as twelve occupants. Twin thrusters powered the vessel, and it had three-and-a-half levels within it. The lowest of course was the engine room, with a small living quarter there. Next up was the actual living quarters complete with a kitchen and large opening for living space. Above that was the navigation deck, however far less spacious. A ladder from the navigation room led up to the cockpit. But at the moment, the ship was in autopilot. The living space on the main floor had been converted into a training center, and the navigation room was a mess. Charts and maps lay scattered around the room. The main navigational computer of the ship was headed to a particular galaxy, but had no specific destination within it.

Alone at a table, Trunks sat, head down, sleeping over his open journal. It had been days since he had slept. His hair was still long, as he never cut it before leaving Earth. In his left hand, he held a small rope necklace with a pocket at the end that kept his shell. Rather than his usual clothing, he had selected the modified Saiyan armor his mother had made to carry with him. The new armor was black, with the chest plate a gray and black color. His gloves and boots had been changed to a more tactical looking black, and his left shoulder and right thigh bore pocket attachments. Additionally his new skin suit offered more protection with the emplacement of elbow and kneepads. He had done his best to use his journal to log the events of his search. It read:

"It's been over a month now since I left Earth. Of course, simply preparing for the depth of this trip took weeks. After the vision I had of Shell, I returned the settings on the time machine to what they were the last time I used it. Risky as it was, I didn't tell my mother. But it was a success, and I managed to send myself back to the past I never had. After a half-of-a-day's search, I had managed to find Goku. It seemed my friends from the past had also just finished battling Majin Buu, and I found Goku high atop Kami's Lookout training with a small boy. I couldn't stay long, so my conversation was short, as usual. But he did manage to reveal the general location of the planet that I was looking for. With that accomplished, I wished him well in his training and returned to my time to finish the work on this spaceship. I worked for three days nonstop. But my perseverance paid off.

Leon insisted he come along with me, but I told him he had to stay and guard Earth while I was gone. With the city still under reconstruction, the local gang lords still thrived on the chaos. I knew that with Leon there, he would be more than adequate to deal with them. Knowing that Earth would be safe while I was away made my departure more bearable. Of course, the hardest part about setting off was still attempting to comfort my mother. You would think she would have learned to cope with it by now, but it seems like every time I embark on something she becomes uneasy.

Solitude in space creates a promising opportunity for training. However, it is difficult, or properly impossible, to expand the outermost reaches of my strength within the confines of this ship. So training is conducted to the best of my ability without causing harm to the ship. Possibly my two best results of the confined training is that I learned to control my transformation into a Super Saiyan 2, giving me an amazing boost in controlled power now, and the other being my constant connection with the Z Sword. The Supreme Kai was right. The more time I've spent with it, the more it has boosted more innate abilities; with a price, of course. It would seem that nothing in the universe comes without a catch. My sleep this past month has been far more than restless. Constant nightmares of Shell's death, and others across the galaxies screaming out in pain have haunted every moment of my sleep. I have come to the point of being able to rest much more easily when I am awake. I do miss Shell though. Ever since my last vision of her, there has been nothing. Even this shell that she left me has made no subtle remark to let me know that I'm going the right way. And with the navigational computer looking for a galaxy but not knowing which planet within it is our destination, I'm literally flying more blindly than I ever have in my life. It seems like…"

The journal entry ended mid-sentence. Trunks had collapsed in exhaustion before he could complete his last thought. Suddenly a beeping noise awoke Trunks from his sleep. At first he sighed and turned his face to his other forearm on the desk, but then he slowly got up and looked at the large computer screen.

"Incoming transmission," the automated voice announced.

Trunks fastened his necklace around his neck and stretched his arms over his head. "Accept and play transmission," Trunks ordered.

The screen flickered and changed modes and began to play.

"Trunks," Bulma said over the intercom, "how are you, sweetheart? I know it will be several hours before you receive this transmission, but I just wanted you to know that I love you and am thinking about you, son. Leon and I are just fine, and Leon has been very careful in his efforts to help the local law enforcement handle the crime around the city. Though just between you and me, sweetie, he really is getting annoyed with it. He says it's too much publicity," she said with a smile and laugh.

"Better him than me," Trunks chuckled to himself.

"But other than that, we're doing fine back at home," she continued. "Now, son, don't do like you usually do, and when this transmission ends walk off and find something else to do, and then send me one back whenever you feel like it, because you won't remember and then I'll be stuck down here wondering if you're okay or not, and if that happens you'll get it when you get back home, young man, you understand?"

Trunks smiled to himself.

"I'm sorry, honey," she apologized. "I don't mean to be impatient, I just worry about you. But I know you can take care of yourself, so please if you have time just send me a message back so I can see you again. Look forward to hearing from you, Trunks. I love you. Bye, son."

The screen flickered and changed modes back to the navigation screen.

"I love you too, Mom," Trunks said softly. He stood silently for a moment taking in her entire transmission. "NavCom, record transmission," Trunks commanded aloud.

The screen changed modes instantly and readied to record a transmission.

"Record," Trunks said and then paused. "Hi, Mom. Got your transmission just a moment ago. I don't know how I could be doing anything other than fine up here, because there's really nothing to do accept wait. I've been training a little bit, but I can't really do much without endangering the ship, so it has been pretty boring. I don't really have much to tell right now, so just know that I am well, and I'll send word as soon as I find something. I love you, bye, Mom."

Trunks walked forward and pushed a key on the keyboard, ending the transmission recording. With a few more key strokes, he had the recording well on its way back to Earth.

"It's about time I found you!" the Supreme Kai's voice echoed through Trunks' brain.

Trunks turned around quickly, surveying the room.

"How dare you take the Z Sword without at least letting me know?" Shin reprimanded. "Do you have any idea what important uses it serves now?"

"A shiny pedestal decoration for touring dead people?" Trunks asked sarcastically. "Where are you anyway?" he asked looking around the room.

"A shiny decora–!? Have you no respect? And you're looking in the wrong place anyway; I'm not on your ship. I'm on the Kai Planet talking to you telepathically," Shin explained.

"Oh," Trunks replied, "well, that makes more sense. I was in a hurry and didn't have time to track you down inside that big temple and ask you. Besides I might need it, and since you're the Supreme Kai, I figured you'd sense it was missing before I left with it. When did you notice it was missing anyway? I've been away from Earth for over a month now."

"That's beside the point," the Supreme Kai answered, avoiding the question about when he had noticed it missing. He sighed and then said, "Look I don't mind you taking it with you just be careful with it, and do let me know when you're going to take it in the future so we don't just up and find it missing at an inopportune time, okay?"

"Okay, okay, I promise," Trunks replied coolly. He could feel the Supreme Kai's partial embarrassment, and couldn't help but ask. "You weren't giving a tour when you found it missing were you?"

"No," Shin answered swiftly.

"That's good," Trunks said with a smile. "Say, Supreme Kai, are you going to be very busy for the next couple of weeks?"

"Trunks, I live in a temple and give tours to dead people," he replied rhetorically.

"Yeah," Trunks said, still grinning.

"Think you'll need help?" Shin asked seriously.

"No," Trunks replied quickly. "I was just wondering in case for some reason I needed to get…"

"This is about Shell isn't it?" Shin interrupted.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Trunks replied grimly.

"You know, Trunks," Shin replied aggravated, "you're not the only one in the universe who can read peoples' thoughts."

"Can we leave Shell out of this?" Trunks asked.

"Do you think there are any Namekians left?" Shin asked while ignoring Trunks' question.

Trunks was silent for a moment. "I… I don't know. Goku told me that after Frieza destroyed Namek, he took all the residents to a planet that resembled their old one. He told me what side of the universe to start looking in but didn't know exactly how to get there by spaceship. Based on what he told me, it's in one of three places. I'm on my way to the first galaxy now; hopefully there won't be many planets in it. I don't want to be out here for any longer than I have to."

"And after you find New Namek, then what?" Shin inquired.

"I'll find a local and persuade him to help me get the Dragon Balls," Trunks answered.

"And if they refuse?" the Supreme Kai continued.

"Maybe they won't," Trunks replied with a straight face.

Shin was silent for a moment, coming to terms with what Earth's hero had just uttered. "Do you know what Frieza's downfall was?" he asked.

"Me," Trunks answered quickly.

The Supreme Kai could sense the change that had come over his friend. "Pride, Trunks," he corrected. "Frieza fell because of his overconfident pride. Be careful, my friend, that you do not fall victim to his fate."

"Pride isn't my problem," Trunks argued.

"Your guilt?" Shin questioned.

"…Yes," the half-Saiyan replied.

"So you will ask for no help in your quest?" Shin asked softly.

"It's my fault," Trunks argued again. "It's not Leon's. It's not yours. It's mine. This is my journey. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Very well," the Kai agreed. "You have my blessings on your journey, my friend. But I ask you to please remember that when all hope seems lost, you do have friends, and you may need their help. If you need mine, you know where to find me."

Trunks looked around the room again and lowered his head. Tears lightly swelled in his eyes. With a sniff, he wiped them away and walked back to where his journal lay open on the table. He picked up a pen and finished the entry with:

"…the whole universe is against me."


	2. Chapter 2: Planet Chandarin

Chapter 2: Planet Chandarin

After his conversation with the Supreme Kai, Trunks had tried once again to get some rest. Only this time he had actually made it to the living quarters before falling asleep. For what had seemed like an eternity, Trunks' subconscious finally found itself gaining much needed rest. He slept deeply and for many hours, seemingly dreamless. As he rested, his ship drew nearer to its destination.

Many hours later, Trunks found himself emerging back to consciousness. He silently rose from his bed, picked up his necklace, and walked back to the navigation deck. As he walked, he briefly reflected on his argument with the Supreme Kai earlier. Had he been too harsh? He shrugged it off as he entered the room where the NavCom screen was lit up with notices.

"Destination reached!" flashed the notice across the top of the screen.

Below the notice, three-dimensional possible course plots among the solar systems were set up in a split-screen fashion. Trunks took a moment to study the different course plots.

"NavCom," Trunks began, "scan nearest system, and display planets based on levels of sustained terrestrial life."

"Scanning…" responded the NavCom.

After a patient forty five seconds, the scan completed. After a brief notice message, the screen began displaying each planet in the nearest solar system and its sustained life levels. Trunks studied the screen, unimpressed with his findings. Five unnamed planets in an unnamed solar system, among them only one planet with a life level high enough to be populated.

"Looks like that's it," Trunks said to himself with a sigh. "NavCom, set a direct course for the second planet, then execute."

Trunks didn't wait for the NavCom's response, he had already turned and headed for the ladder to the cockpit. From the view of the cockpit, Trunks could see the tiny planet a mere half hour away. It was much smaller than Earth and grey in color. The nearer the ship got to the planet, the more information flooded over Trunks' screens in the cockpit. As Trunks studied the information, he began to formulate a more vivid picture of the destination planet.

The planet seemed to be more concrete than organic, suggesting a high level of urban setting and organization. Atmosphere was normal, gravity estimated at roughly six times that of Earth. Trunks guessed it was probably one of the few city-planets he had heard of but never actually seen. It took a small planet and a vast city to make a city-planet, but apparently it was possible.

As the ship made its final approach on the planet before attempting to pass through the highest atmosphere, the thought dawned on Trunks. He had failed to ask Goku what type of planet the Namekians lived on. His only reference had been Piccolo from the past, and that had certainly not been concern at the time. He thought for a moment about Piccolo. The Namekian had certainly not seemed like the kind of creature that originated from a vast city. But then his birthplace had been on Earth as well. It was no use; Trunks had no idea what type of planet he was looking for, and he was already entering atmosphere anyway. He decided it didn't matter anyway, one quick look around the planet and he would know if it was the right one or not.

As he neared the planet's surface, he felt a strange aura flush over him. Then he remembered. He took out his shell necklace from his thigh pocket. The shell glowed a very light shade of red, a kind of pinkish color. At first, Trunks found himself alarmed, but then his anxiety subsided into a sort of understanding.

"Maybe I am headed the right way," Trunks said to himself.

Trunks felt immediately relieved. He smiled at his necklace and reassured himself that Shell was watching over him. He was sure that she was guiding him to the way he needed to go.

"Transport ship, identify yourself!" suddenly broke Trunks' concentration as it blasted over the speaker system. "I repeat, identify yourself!"

Trunks hesitated for a moment, but then responded through the transponder, "Transport ship is a non hostile. I repeat a _non_ hostile. I'm just trying to get some directions, gentlemen. Permission to put down?"

There was a momentary pause, and Trunks suddenly got a bad feeling. Discouragingly enough, it was not the first time Trunks had felt it. Something was not right.

"Very well," the speakers suddenly blared back. "You will put down in hanger bay 371098; we're sending you the coordinates now."

"Thank you very much," Trunks replied as he downloaded the coordinates into the course plot, and allowed the NavCom to make the necessary adjustments.

Trunks contemplated with himself before landing. He could just take off and try another planet. But that would get him no closer to his goal; he would still be flying blindly. Yet he still felt uncomfortable. He felt safer carrying the Z Sword with him, but that would not be very diplomatic. Most non hostiles don't get off their ship with a sword. He decided that after landing, he would lock the sword up in his quarters below and then lock down his ship before leaving. If it was searched, everything would be safe.

After landing and securing his ship, Trunks activated the side hatch of the ship with a loud hissing noise. The ladder descended automatically. Trunks suppressed his power level to avoid any unwanted attention, and began to climb down the ladder. His foot was not three rungs from the bottom when he suddenly felt a terrible, hard pressure on the side of his neck. He reached his left hand towards his neck and felt a small projectile protruding from a small entrance wound. Before he could respond, he was on the ground, hearing a hollow thud echo through his body from the fall. His vision began to narrow and darken, and his hearing began to fade like an echo in a long hallway. As he stared up at the ceiling, a group of men gathered over him.

One blurred figure grunted, "Welcome to Chandarin, pirate."

Trunks passed out.

"Hey!" a voice resounded in Trunks' mind. "Hey! Wake up!"

"Shell," Trunks whispered softly, still fleeting in and out of consciousness.

"What?" the soft voice resounded. "Wake _up_!"

The last of the female voice's words were met with a stinging sensation on the side of Trunks' face. Trunks grunted loudly as he awoke and focused his eyes. It was a girl. Young and quite pretty, she had brown eyes and red-brown hair, cut short. She was wearing what would have been ordinary clothes, however shredded and somewhat revealing.

"What… Where am I?" Trunks asked slowly.

"In jail," she said bluntly. "Welcome to Chandarin, I guess. We've got to get out of here, now."

Trunks looked himself over quickly. His armor was still intact, not too surprising, considering its durability. He checked the density of his pockets. His necklace and access card to the ship were still there. Obviously they didn't check him for weapons.

"How long have I been out?" Trunks asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "You weren't here when I went to sleep, and you were when I woke up. But we don't have time to get to know each other; we have to get out of this place."

Trunks looked around again. Their cell was armor hulled. It would take an immense blast, likely killing them in the process, just to break through. The only openings were small ventilation shafts some twenty feet high.

"There's no way out," Trunks claimed.

"Well we'd better find one then," the girl replied quickly. "I'm a traitor and you're obviously not welcome here. I suspect our executions will be soon."

Trunks paused. He began to sense the area around him. The girl had a fairly high power level, he guessed somewhere in the tens of thousands; very impressive he thought, given her small figure. Small, but definitely nothing short of attractive. Beyond her, beyond the walls, they were in a large complex. He could tell that his sword was not many miles away so he was still in the vicinity of the hangar; that was good.

"Are we going to get out of here now?" she interrupted. "Or do you plan on meditating until they come for us?"

Trunks broke his concentration and looked down at her. He didn't answer. Rather, he changed his focus to the door. He walked over to it and drew back to kick it.

"I wouldn't do that either," she said, again halting his actions. "It's electric. You'll be turned to dust if you do it that way."

"Well then what the hell do you suggest?" Trunks shouted, losing patience.

"If I knew, don't you think I would be out of here already?" she shouted back, her brown eyes never faltering. "Men," she sighed, "all they know how to do to fix something is break shit."

Trunks' eyes narrowed noticeably. "Women," he muttered turning back to the door, "all they know how to do is b–."

"Screw you!" she shouted again.

"Would you shut up?" Trunks snapped. "I can't think with you bi–, er, I can't…" He sighed. "Please be quiet."

"On second thought," she said softly, much calmer, "why don't you go ahead and take a swing at that door. Do us both a favor."

Trunks sighed and lowered his head. She was quickly growing less and less attractive to him. Her arrogance was turning his stomach. He decided to ignore her and work quietly. Unfortunately, his subsequent study of his predicament showed up no better results. Out of ideas and against the girl's warning, Trunks suddenly took a swing at the door.

After a blaze of sharp, blue sparks, Trunks found himself on the floor with his cellmate at his side. He couldn't move well, and was breathing irregularly.

"Are you stupid?" she asked frantically. "I warn you not to try to kill yourself, and then you do it anyway! You should have been incinerated at that voltage! And what would you have done if I hadn't known how to resuscitate you? I really can't believe you're still alive!"

"You had to resuscitate me?" Trunks asked, surprised. It had only felt like he had just hit the ground when he came to.

"Yeah I did," she answered. "And don't worry I don't have cooties, but don't get any ideas either."

"Thank you," Trunks replied, ignoring her answer.

"You're welcome," the girl said hesitantly. "Are you okay? You scared the hell out of me."

"I'm fine," Trunks said as he got up. "Thank you though."

Suddenly he froze. He could feel his necklace glowing, and took it out of his pocket to verify it.

"What's that?" the girl asked him.

"It means we are about to have company," Trunks immediately answered. "Look the only idea I have is this. I'm going to pretend that I'm still out from the shock. You tell them that you've stabilized my breathing but that's all. When they attempt to carry me out, I'll take care of them ok? Just keep down when the fighting starts and don' get caught in the crossfire."

She nodded in understanding.

"Alright, act like you're trying to help me okay?" Trunks instructed and fell to the ground.

She hesitated but as soon as the locks sounded on the door, she lowered her head onto Trunks as if trying to resuscitate him. As soon as her lips touched Trunks, his eyes snapped open. He looked at her for a split second with a look of shock, and she stared back. When the door began to open, he immediately closed them again and listened as the girl told their story to the guards in an almost overly dramatic fashion.

Why had she done that? She didn't have to do that to be convincing. She was getting too close; too close for comfort. He didn't like it. The girl was finished with her act, and it was almost time for Trunks to act. He waited patiently for the feeling of the guards lifting his dead weight.

"Why should we care if he is okay or not?" one guard asked the girl.

"Because there's a bomb on his ship, and it's a failsafe in case something happens to him," she lied. "If you don't cooperate with him, this whole planet will be blown out of the galaxy! He told me about it when he was awake."

"What the hell is she doing?!" thought Trunks.

"I don't think so, little girl," the second guard argued. "His ship was scanned as soon as he passed over the city. Not only was it clean, but he's drivin' a transport ship! Those things have no weapons on them at all! What a fool! Traveling this side of the galaxy with no way to protect himself; it's not surprising that he was dumb enough to try to electrocute himself as well!"

The two guards laughed together for a moment.

"It's okay though," the first guard said as his laughter subsided. "We're going to help your little friend out. He's going to get the opportunity to be executed along with you, that way you two won't be separated."

Their laughter continued. Without warning, the girl lashed out kicking the nearest guard in the groin, dropping him instantly. She swung at the second guard, but he dodged her blow and backhanded her into the floor. She landed with a gasp, losing her wind.

"Insolent bitch!" the guard cried. "Do you really want to speed up the time of your execution?"

"Let me through," the wounded guard shouted as he forced his way past his comrade. "Little bitch!" he snarled, "For that, I should really return the favor! Tell me, how would you feel about losing your dignity before you die? Hold her!" he commanded his friend.

Before the guard had made one step toward the girl on the floor, he was tossed through the doorway of the jail cell, and pinned to the wall of the corridor outside by an energy beam. Trunks had been on his feet in an instant, and before gravity had pulled the man's lifeless body to the floor, the Saiyan had dug his knee deep into the second guard's gut, pushing him toward the doorway. As the two cleared the doorway, Trunks backed his knee out of the man's stomach, and brought both fists together down hard on the back of the man's head, driving him swiftly into the concrete floor with a loud crack.

It had happened so fast that the girl hadn't been able to see what happened. But as she looked away from the fallen guards in the hallway, Trunks was standing over her with outstretched hand.

"Are you okay?" Trunks asked quietly.

"I–I…" she stuttered in response.

Trunks almost smiled, and then reached down to lift her to her feet. She immediately clung to him in a hug. Trunks couldn't tell if she was crying but he felt it proper to pat her back with one hand to try to comfort her.

"It's okay," Trunks reassured her. "You're fine n–!"

He was cut off by the girl quickly looking up and kissing him mid-sentence.

Surprised, he quickly pushed her off. "Don't!" Trunks half shouted.

Her face frowned, crushingly.

"I'm sorry," Trunks apologized. "But please don't do that."

"Fine!" she snorted. "Suppose you only did that cause you owed me one, huh? I understand."

"No," Trunks began. "I, oh never mind!" he sighed blowing it off. "Let's go."

"Fine," she agreed angrily.

Trunks rolled his eyes, and motioned for her to follow as he left the cell and took off down the corridor. With him out of eyeshot around the corner, she frowned deeply and wiped the wetness from the corner of her eye.

They must have run blindly through the complex for fifteen minutes. Sneaking past guards and looking for exits, Trunks and the girl whose name he didn't even know weaved in and out of corridors. Frankly, he didn't care to know. He just wanted to find the ship, or at least something that could tell him where to find the ship. Soon his prayers were answered, because they stumbled into a control room. He looked around quickly, and then ran to a nearby computer console.

"What are you doing?" the girl asked in a whisper.

"I'm looking for my ship," he answered.

"We'll need to disable their antiaircraft weapons if we're gonna get away by ship," she informed him.

"What do you mean _we_?" Trunks asked immediately. "Isn't this planet your home?"

"No," the girl replied, not in a whisper. "You couldn't pay me to live on this shit hole."

Trunks mentally noted to himself of her esteemed class with words.

"So you're a prisoner on a foreign planet?" he inquired. "How'd you manage that? Your pleasant and diplomatic speech skills?"

"My home planet is at war with this one," she answered with disgust. "I'm an important chess piece on my planet, so they figured I'd make good bartering clay. But since we're stuck on the elegance of the way I talk, I've got a question for you, lavender."

Trunks looked up from the screen.

"What's a thin, muscular guy with long purple hair and wearing black spandex who has a come-apart whenever a _girl_ kisses him, do to end up in a jail cell unconscious? You went on a dating website and based on your criteria they figured you'd find your best match unconscious on the floor of a prison cell didn't they? It's okay; it's don't ask, don't tell these days, isn't it?"

Trunks was through being nice.

"You know I don't even know your name, and you've kissed me twice in the last hour," Trunks retorted. "And since we're on the subject, maybe the real reason you're so pissed off is because I kept those assholes off of you back in the jail. Maybe your real plan was just to leave me to pretend to be unconscious while you got l–!"

He couldn't finish his sentence for the extremely sharp slap of the girl's hand across his face.

"I should have let you die," she said grimly and turned with tears swelling again as she walked off down a nearby passageway.

Maybe that was a bit harsh. Had he been too angry with her? Trunks sighed inwardly and looked back at the computer screen. As he searched for his ship he thought to himself. No, she was the one that had started it. She deserved to be mad. He didn't come to the planet to play hero, he was on his own mission. He didn't need her, and she was not any asset to his goal. If anything she was in the way. But then, why did he feel somewhat guilty about it? Something wasn't right. Then he felt it.

He took his necklace out of his thigh pocket to verify it. The shell was lightly glowing with a pinkish glow. He looked around quickly. Why would an entire control room be empty? He was meant to come this way; which meant he was being tracked. He quickly tucked his necklace into his shoulder pocket to keep it close enough to his head to see the glow when it showed. The computer screen flashed the location of his ship. It was southeast of his location, conveniently the exact opposite direction the girl had just left in.

Frustrated, he stood up and started towards the passageway in the direction of his ship. The glow from within his pocket dimmed as he neared the corridor. He stopped for a moment, reconsidering. He turned to look back at the way the girl had left. She would slow him down; he knew this.

"Trunks," he told himself aloud, "this will be the last good deed you do today. You're getting soft."

As he walked across the room towards the hallway, the glow from his pocket grew slightly.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Shell," he whispered.

With that, he bolted down the hallway after the girl who probably hated him. After not more than three turns, he was met with a small army of blaster-wielding guards and the young girl from the cell. They were holding her at gun point.

"I think we've played cat and mouse for long enough," the senior-most guard stated confidently. "Now if you'll just come quietly, we won't have to lay waste to you and your girlfriend here."

"Go ahead," the girl spoke up. "Just blow them all to hell, and get out of here. We both know you can do it, so just go."

He couldn't attack them for fear of getting the girl hurt in the crossfire. In the back of his mind, he argued that she was slowing him down. He smiled inwardly, and readied to attack as fast as he could.

However, before he could make his move, he felt his necklace pushing outward from his pocket. In response to Shell's warning, he released his tension and relaxed his clenched fists.

"You win this round," he said with a smirk to the senior guard.

The two adjacent guards stepped forward and chained Trunks' hands together. Then, they led the Saiyan and the young lady away down the hallway.

"I'm sure you didn't come back to apologize," the girl criticized.

"You had the car keys," Trunks replied cynically.

She rolled her eyes noticeably.

"And I wanted to apologize," he added with a smile.

"It's okay; I'm sorry too. Just get us out of this," she whispered back.

"I have a plan," Trunks said confidently.

"Oh, well that's good," she said sarcastically. "Getting caught was part of the plan right? Good, I was beginning to worry."

Trunks smiled. She would never change.

"Shut up, you two!" shouted the guard, interrupting.

The rest of the walk was done in silence.


	3. Chapter 3: Avien

Chapter 3: Avien

Trunks found himself standing beside the young girl in the middle of what looked like a grand combat arena. The oval field they stood in was mostly dirt, with debris littered around the arena. Fallen columns, walls, and other stone structures all lay in ruins across the field. At the edge of the fields, stood walls that stretched upward at least seventy feet, and at the summit of these walls, extended rock seating areas another fifty feet up. All of which, were now almost full with curious onlookers.

"I didn't realize we were this popular," Trunks muttered to himself.

"They could care less who we are," the girl elaborated. "These people probably just came to watch the slaughter."

Trunks turned his attention back to the stands. At one end of the arena the stands ended, and the rock formed a sort of balcony, protruding much further out over the field than the rest of the stands. In it, on a throne-like chair, sat a man who Trunks believed was probably the guy in charge.

"Who's the loser on the balcony?" Trunks asked.

"That would be the king, Chandarin," she replied. "Have you ever met someone so full of themselves that they would name an entire planet after em'?"

Trunks didn't answer, but he couldn't help but smile.

The rustling in the crowds subsided, and King Chandarin stood up and walked to the edge of his balcony.

"Good people of Chandarin," the king began, "I give you the Princess Avien and her spy!"

Cheerful cries and shouts filled the stands. Trunks looked around and then back at Avien.

"_Princess_ Avien?" he asked.

"Avien," she insisted. "Princesses are overrated anyway. What about you, spy? You got a name?"

"Trunks," he replied grimly, still watching the crowd and his surroundings. "Pleasure to meet you. I suppose the jail cell wasn't an appropriate time, but now that we're in chains and about to be executed, I suppose we've arrived at the occasion."

"Whatever," she said rolling her eyes. "What kind of a name is Trunks, anyway? You an underwear model?"

"Corporate executive," Trunks corrected. "But not nearly as impressive as royalty, Princess. I've always wondered: which spoon is the proper one to eat soup with?"

"Oh, shut up," she grunted, cutting him off. "At least let me die in peace and quiet."

"Princess Avien," King Chandarin shouted as the crowds' roars subsided. "This is quite a predicament you've gotten yourself into."

"If I remember correctly, _you_ captured _my_ ship," Avien said in return.

"Indeed," the king agreed. "However, it seems peculiar that as soon as we send your ransom notice to your father, this spy shows up. No doubt he was sent to infiltrate our complex and escape with you. Isn't that right?"

"He has nothing to do with this," Avien argued.

"I'm sure," the king snorted sarcastically. "I'm willing to make you a deal, Princess. If you will tell your father to give up his futile attempt at resisting our conquest and accept defeat, I will at least let you live. You do not have to die here today with this spy."

"If I were to tell my father anything," Avien replied softly, "I would tell him to show no mercy or regret when he removes your heart from your chest."

"I will not play games, Avien," Chandarin sneered. "If you will not help me save the lives of your people in surrender, then you will die along with the rest of your miserable planet."

"I would have them all fight and die before being your slaves," Avien shouted back.

Trunks had paid little attention to the argument. He had been surveying power levels and the layout of the arena while Avien had kept Chandarin busy talking.

"Very well," King Chandarin muttered. "The princess has made it very clear that she has no intention of being useful, do you have anything to say that could make your death less painful, spy? Any information you supply could allow me to sentence you to a much quicker death."

Trunks turned his attention to the king.

"Yeah," he replied with a sinister smirk. "Yeah, I've got some information for you."

He pulled his hands apart lightly, snapping the chains instantly. The crowds expelled a mild gasp throughout the stands. Trunks began to float up off the ground and flew slowly over to the edge of the king's balcony and hovered there, staring the frightened monarch down.

"Guards!" Chandarin shouted.

Before the six royal guards on the balcony could take one step, they were all being knocked to the ground by two invisible, yet powerful, energy attacks.

"I'm going to be as honest as I know how to be with you, King Chandarin," Trunks said angrily. "Frankly, I have no idea what you people are fighting over or why. I am not a spy, and I wasn't sent here to rescue that girl; you couldn't pay me enough, trust me. So the problem here is that I have no interest in your little war or you. I don't have time for this stupidity, and if you want to live, you will let me and the girl walk out of here now. That's the only chance you're getting from me, I won't ask again. It's your call."

Without another word, Trunks turned and flew back down to where Avien stood in awe. He landed and silently broke the chains binding her hands.

"Are you crazy?" she asked, amazed.

"No," he answered quickly. "And you can drop the act, Princess. I know you could have broken those chains yourself."

"That's not the point!" she said frantically. "You really aren't from around here are you? Ever heard of a Phyramare? It's an enormous beast that's unstoppable! I was trying to keep Chandarin from releasing it on us! That's how executions go down on this planet!"

"Unstoppable, eh?" Trunks questioned. "We'll see."

"Fool!" Chandarin shouted down from his balcony. "You'll pay for your belligerence! Release the Phyramare!"

"Go the edge of the arena and wait for me there," Trunks instructed.

Without a word, Avien bolted away towards the far edge of the arena. As she ran, Trunks turned to the area of the arena wall that opened and gave view to the enormous creature. The beast looked like something from a genetic experiment gone horribly wrong. It had the head of a lion, but gnarled horns erupted from its skull behind each ear. Beneath its reddish mane, was the huge, muscular build of a minotaur's body. Its clawed hands and feet seemed to emanate light flames. Trunks guessed it was an elemental monster.

As the creature took gigantic steps forward into the arena, it let out a bloodcurdling roar. Accordingly the crowd cheered, and King Chandarin's expression changed from anger to relief.

Trunks glanced over his shoulder to locate Avien. She was safely out of the way behind a large obstacle on the edge of the field. He turned his attention back to monster. It roared loudly as it prepared for combat.

"Let's go," Trunks muttered with a grin as he began to power up slowly and calmly. He lifted himself off the ground and came to float in front of the beast's body, no more than twenty feet away.

The creature reared its head and then immediately released a giant blast of flames that engulfed Trunks and torched the majority of the surrounding field. The crowd cheered wildly and King Chandarin smiled widely showing signs of even greater relief. As the monster ended its attack and the flames subsided, dark grey smoke took their place. Billows of ashy colored smoke resonated from the scorched ground around where the monster stood.

But through the murky cloud, a light glow radiated outward. The crowd fell quiet, and King Chandarin once again became noticeably worried. A Super Saiyan floated in the air where Trunks had been, lightning arching around his ascended body.

"My turn," Trunks said cynically.

He rushed forward in the blink of an eye, and connected hard with a right hook, causing the Phyramare so much loss of balance that it fell backwards onto the ground. The creature roared angrily and rolled backwards onto its feet in amazing quickness. It lunged forward and swung at Trunks, but the Super Saiyan easily maneuvered around the giant's blow. Trunks countered with a quick energy beam to the back of the monster's head causing it to roar again. It struck blindly with its opposite arm and managed to graze Trunks' arm causing him to spin into the ground. Trunks hit hard and immediately had the Phyramare's foot on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

More cheers and joyful roars from the crowd ensued. Putting more pressure on Trunks' body, the creature lowered itself, shifting most of its weight onto Trunks. As Trunks struggled trying to remove the behemoth from his torso, the monster opened its grotesque mouth and fired another fire attack at point blank, incinerating the dirt around them and setting fire to everything else.

Getting angrier, Trunks shouted and fired a powerful energy beam from his one free hand up at the monster's head. It attempted to dodge, but the beam caught the side of its head, tearing the creature's right horn clean from its head. The beam continued up blasting a gigantic hole in the ceiling of the arena. Large shards of stone fell from the ceiling, one medium sized shard catching the beast in the lower part of its back. The Phyramare swayed drastically, enough for Trunks to free his other hand and immediately grasped the beast's foot with both hands in an attempt to move it.

He could almost lift the creature completely. He could feel the weight of it beginning to move, if only the monster would lose balance! Unfortunately, it regained its composure and began to push its weight back into Trunks' body. Suddenly, and to Trunks' surprise, a powerful, red energy beam plunged into the creature's shoulder causing it to rock back uncontrollably. Trunks looked across the field behind him. Avien had fired the energy beam, and it was just enough to unbalance the Phyramare. He clutched the monster's foot and pushed with all his strength knocking the Phyramare the rest of the way over onto its back. With the creature on its back, he rolled backwards onto his feet and then jumped backwards, putting more distance between himself and the monster.

"Are you okay!?" Avien asked frantically, running to Trunks' side.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "You should go back to cover."

She frowned at his response. "Your hair and eyes… You changed," she said worriedly.

"I know; get out of here, now!" Trunks shouted suddenly.

Somewhat afraid, Avien immediately turned and ran from him, but not to take cover. She stopped some forty feet behind him and watched. The Phyramare had gotten to its feet and was charging Trunks. She watched with fear and worry as Trunks dodged the monster's initial attack and began jumping and flying around the Phyramare's body. It swung wildly at Trunks, trying desperately to connect with a blow. It finally smashed its arm into the ground in an attempt to smash Trunks. The Super Saiyan side stepped the creature's arm, and then ran up it after it had lodged into the ground. At the giant's shoulder, Trunks fired and energy attack into the side of its face and then launched himself up into the air. After a twist and a spin in midair, Trunks turned his body to come back with a final attack on the Phyramare's head. Suddenly, the creature dislodged its fist and turned swiftly, opened its mouth to full width, and swallowed Trunks whole as he fell. Immediately after swallowing the Saiyan, the monster roared victoriously.

"NO!" Avien screamed.

King Chandarin smiled widely and the crowd cheered enthusiastically.

"Trunks! No!" Avien shouted as she cried.

Avien immediately launched another energy attack at the monster, striking it first in the shoulder, then another in the chest. Then, before she could get another shot off, and energy beam exploded out of the Phyramare's chest and impacting an area of the stands, blowing people and rock to rubble. The monster shrieked in pain as thick, red blood oozed down its body and into the parched dirt floor of the arena. Another beam pierced the monster's chest on its opposite side, the impact doing similar damage on another portion of the stands.

The crowd broke into a riot. Moans of dying Chandarians put the surrounding populous in an uproar. The screams of those in pain from wounds or panicked from the explosions echoed around the arena. King Chandarin was very much afraid: his arena was destroyed; his executioner was dying in morbid pain; and his people were in chaos. What had he gotten them into?

Avien watched in horror as the monster reached into its own chest cavity, clawing wildly trying to get Trunks' destructive body out of its own. Trunks kicked its hand back out in reluctance and powered up as much as he could and managed a massive release of energy, causing the monster to explode from the inside out. Pieces of organs, tissue, and blood from the Phyramare rained down on the arena, and in the epicenter of the explosion floated a Super Saiyan, drenched in the blood of his enemy.

"What is he?" Avien whispered to herself.

Trunks looked around at the sheer chaos that engulfed the arena. Then he smiled. He flew quickly up to where King Chandarin stood on his balcony.

"You stand alone, King Chandarin," Trunks sneered at his enemy. "Just like me."

"Please, please don't hurt me!" the king cried dramatically. "I'll give you anything you want! Just please leave me alone!"

"All this and still all you think about is yourself?" Trunks questioned, enraged. "Look around you! All these people answer to you! And you stand here and tell me you'll do anything if I spare _you_! You care nothing about these people, or the ones you hope to conquer on Avien's planet! You're not a king; you're not even fit to be a follower."

"Avien and her people can go free!" Chandarin declared. "I swear on my grave that Planet Chandarin will never again seek to conquer them!"

"Of that, you're right," Trunks said grimly. "I'll see to it."

"Please! Please! Show mercy! I beg of y–!" Chandarin never finished.

Trunks incinerated him with an energy blast before he could finish his last sentence.

"Avien, let's go!" Trunks shouted down to the Princess.

She silently flew up to his side, and he led her through the hole in the ceiling of the arena out into the evening sky.

"They will never bother your planet again," Trunks swore.

He looked down at where the arena was. He opened his hand and gathered the energy needed for a sufficient energy blast.

"Trunks, no!" Avien objected.

It was no use. The attack was completed and on its way toward the surface of the planet. Avien watched in horror as the arena and all the people in it were reduced to dust in a massive explosion.

"Why did you do that?" she screamed.

"I gave them a choice!" Trunks shouted back. "They could let us go or all die. You can see what they picked."

"You made it clear that they couldn't hurt you!" Avien argued. "You didn't have to kill everyone to prove that."

"Do you think they cared that we were going to die?" Trunks asked. "What if it wasn't me that was down in that death pit? Have you thought of that? What if it was someone with no power level and didn't know shit about fighting? And all those bastards would sit up in their chairs and cheer as they watched someone who couldn't defend themselves die mercilessly! Is that your idea of fair?!"

"But–," she tried to protest.

"But nothing!" Trunks screamed. "What do you know about it? Have you ever watched the innocents get slaughtered by the ones in power? Of course not, you're royalty! I've seen it! I've watched it! Watched the bastards take away everything you love in an instant! They deserve to die! They deserve to die just as mercilessly as they deal out death!"

Trunks' hair turned back to its natural lavender shade and fell to his shoulders, his eyes regained their deep blue color, and instantly tears began to swell at the edge of his eye sockets. Avien's expression changed. She knew she had hit a nerve.

"Trunks," she began, "Trunks, I'm sorry… I'm sorry for whatever it is you've gone through…"

"Feeling sorry for me won't save anyone," Trunks said heartlessly. "I should know. We should get to my ship; I'll drop you off on your planet."

As Trunks headed off in the direction of his ship, Avien frowned deeply and then followed.


	4. Chapter 4: Leon's Plight

Chapter 4: Leon's Plight

The sun beamed down on West City. It was a beautiful day outside, despite the fallen ruins of the East Side of town. Some of the city was slowly beginning to resurrect, but sadly, several districts of the downtown area were still desecrated from the destruction of Majin Buu. However, life moved on. Children played in the park, while their parents talked amongst themselves under the shade of the pavilions. Birds bathed themselves in the fountains in the courtyards and managed small meals of bread off of the elder citizens. For the most part, the entire city had managed to recover from the destruction of their homes that had ravaged their city months prior. Almost…

"Cover the perimeter!" shouted the police commissioner. "I don't want anyone getting in or out; they've got hostages!"

Men in uniforms scurried around one of the surviving buildings from Buu's onslaught. With the exception of a few squads, most of West City Police were gathered at the scene.

"Sir, we've got all available units in position," a lead officer updated. "Snipers are set up on the neighboring rooftops, we've got SWAT squads one and two on the rear entrance standing by, and our defensive perimeter is set up out front and back behind squads one and two."

"Good, Lieutenant," the commissioner explained. "Get our negotiator on the line with those bastards ASAP!"

"What's the BLUD up to today?" Leon asked softly as he landed behind the commissioner.

"Huh? Oh! Mr. Datch, damn good thing you're here," the commissioner said with a sigh of relief. "Looks like those BLUD bastards got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, and rather than put the lid down they figured they'd take a few hostages. Ugly mess they've stirred up."

"Where are they at?" Leon asked.

"We're guessin' they're on the sixth, but with the reflective panes on those windows, they could move the hostages up and down between floors, and we'd have no clue," he explained.

"Do we have any contact with them yet?" Leon questioned.

"Only the emergency call that dispatch got from one of the hostages," the commissioner answered. "Based on that, we've figured at least a dozen hostages: all office workers and employees of that sort. Less than thirty BLUD men, we hope. Based on what we know about the business, most of the office work is carried out on the lower levels, so we don't expect much activity on the higher ones. No roof access, and no negotiator contact, yet."

Leon paused for a moment, searching the building for power levels. "What do you think?" he asked finally.

Commissioner Stone smiled slightly and then answered, "Personally, Leon, I think that the owner made a deal with BLUD to keep his business safe. But when we finally got enough manpower to get collective control of the streets again, the owner wanted to cancel his BLUD insurance. Looks like they came for the collateral."

"We've dealt with these guys before," Leon remembered. "And they're ruthless, we need to deal with this fast."

"What's your plan?" Stone asked.

"Deploy whatever special units you have, I'll take the roof, keep em' busy with the negotiator, and hopefully we'll all meet in the middle," Leon replied.

"I'll send my boys in, but until we figure out their angle, I want everybody to keep low. You too, Leon," Stone instructed.

"Fair enough," Leon agreed, snapping on a radio headset. "I'll be in touch," he said as he flew up to the roof of the building.

"Good luck," Stone said as Leon flew off.

When Leon landed on the roof, he immediately punched a small hole and climbed inside the building. It was dark. In fact, beyond the tiny spot of light coming in through the hole Leon had made, it was completely dark. Leon switched on a small flashlight and began to navigate the room. It took a bit longer than Leon would have liked, but soon enough he had made it out of the black room and into a stairwell. He was on floor twenty. They had guessed that any hostiles would be located on the sixth floor or lower. Leon wasn't going to take any chances, not with hostages at stake. He made his way slowly down the stairwell, stopping at each floor and sensing for any trace of life force.

He continued the same procedure until he finally found an energy signal on the eighth floor. He could see through the window on the door that the room had power, and the lights were on. Cautiously, he opened the door and slipped in. In the corner of the room, there was one gang member with a high-powered rifle. He was staring through the scope down at the crowd of police below him. Leon started towards the guard, unnoticed.

"What's that?" the man asked suddenly.

Leon tensed, and prepared to lunge at the enemy.

"The commissioner?" the man answered.

Leon realized he was talking into a headset.

"Right, consider it done," the man said again.

Immediately, the man corrected his aim and put all of his concentration into his scope and his rifle. Leon knew what was about to happen, and had no time to react any differently. He immediately sent an invisible wave of energy from his right had that pushed the man violently through the glass window. The man fell quickly with a scream, and Leon ran to the window. The man lay motionless atop one of the squad cars down on the street. He searched immediately for Commissioner Stone in the vast crowd. He found him, the commissioner's gaze was transfixed on Leon; it was a look of extreme concern. Leon watched as Stone broke his stare to answer his radio. After a brief reply, Leon watched as Stone shouted something undecipherable into his crowd of officers. Immediately following, Leon heard multiple sources of gunfire downstairs.

"Shit," he said to himself, and then rushed to the stairwell.

The gunfire continued, in sporadic bursts, as he rushed down the stairs, systematically searching for nearby power levels so as to not run into a trap. Leon sensed that there were nearly twenty energy signals coming from the sixth floor; that was definitely where the hostages were being kept. And there were as many as thirty energy signals darting around everywhere on the fifth floor.

It was evident that the SWAT squads one and two had made contact. That was good, Leon figured. At least it would keep them busy. He peeked into the room on floor six. He could sense one person in it, but couldn't see them. Finally, he took a deep breath and opened the door as quietly as he could. He was in a medium-sized room with several aisles made from computer cubicles and desks. He moved silently across the length of the room towards the door continually looking around for the one life force he had felt resonating from the room. A bead of sweat dripped from his brow.

"Please don't hurt me," whispered a low voice from the corner of the desk at the edge of the next aisle in front of Leon.

"Who's there?" Leon asked, taking a defensive stance.

"They're after me!" the man whispered again. "My name is Martin White, and those thugs are trying to kill me! They took my staff hostage; in that room there!"

"Stay in here and keep quiet," Leon told him. "I'll be back after I've taken care of them."

"What?" the man asked. "The entire police force is outside, and they send in one man?"

"I'm not with the police," Leon replied. "So don't worry, this won't take long."

Leon left the man in bewilderment, and headed for the door. He peered through the small window on the door. It was a large room, definitely where everyone else was. Luckily, the door opened to a small corner of the room, hidden by office stationery. He should be able to sneak in relatively unnoticed. As silently as he could, Leon quickly opened the door and maneuvered into the next room, crouching behind a water dispenser.

"Where'd White go?!" Leon heard one of the men shout across the room.

"He must've taken off in all the commotion," another answered.

Leon guessed that one of the SWAT squads must have stumbled up onto this floor by one of the stairwells on the other side of the room. Amidst the firefight, Mr. White had probably taken off through the door next to Leon to hide.

"Must suck to work for the guy," Leon whispered to himself. "First, his insurance collectors show up to trash the office and take em' hostage, then when the shooting starts, he takes off and leaves his employees to cover the check. Some leader!"

"What about all these hostages?" one man asked.

"Get rid of them," grunted the one in charge. "We have to find White."

Leon knew that there was no time, he readied himself and then jumped up and darted around the room, avoiding gunfire and taking out each gang man as he approached them. There were six of them; the first two went down easily. The third one had used suppressive fire to hold Leon behind a metal cabinet. However, it didn't hold, Leon quickly pushed the cabinet clear across the room, crushing the man into the wall behind him.

"Get him!" the one man designated leader shouted.

Unfortunately, his two lackeys were too disheartened by their odds to put up much of a fight. Leon brought them both down easily with one punch. The leader had attempted to get off a shot at Leon but failed. Leon lunged forward and roundhouse kicked the man's gun out of his hands. It shattered through the glass of the window as it fell harmlessly to the streets. Leon quickly tripped the man with a leg sweep, caught him by his ankle before the man hit the ground, and swung him over to hold him out the broken glass window.

"Don't kill me!" the man cried.

"Why not?" Leon shouted back. He looked over his shoulder. On the floor lay two dead hostages and one dead SWAT officer. "Did you hesitate to kill those people?"

"Regrettably they were lost in the firefight!" the man swore.

"Regrettably?!" shouted Leon. "Acceptable losses, right?"

"Please, we were only after Mr. White," the man argued.

"That's right," Leon agreed. "I guess since the police are getting a foothold on the streets now, you BLUD bastards are running out of high-income jobs, huh? So you come here and have a tea party to make him pay up?"

"Actually," he began, "he wasn't just buying _insurance_, as you put it."

"What are you talking about?" Leon shouted.

"Mr. White had financed some cleanup work of his own," the man elaborated. "He paid BLUD to take care of some rival companies for him, some that had enough dirt on the man to put his company under. We took care of them for him."

Leon gritted his teeth hard. How could he manage to take care of the filth in the city when the bureaucracy was becoming just as wretched as the average gang member.

"Mr. Datch!" a man shouted from behind Leon.

He glanced over his shoulder; it was a squad officer from SWAT.

"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to put the suspect down safely on the floor and then step back, please. We'll take it from here," the officer instructed.

Leon flinched. He jerked the man back inside the window and tossed him over at the officer's feet.

"Cuff him then," Leon sneered. "And if you didn't hear all of that, I've got all of these survivors as witnesses. White's in the next room back there. Arrest him too."

Without another word, Leon flew through the hole in the window and down to the streets to where Commissioner Stone stood.

"Looks like you thought right," Leon said as he landed. "Only it goes farther; White was paying the gang lords to take care of the competition for him. Sir, I don't know if we'll ever be able to take care of all of these bastards. So much is covered up."

"I don't know either," Stone replied grimly. "But look, Leon. Why don't you take some time off, go relieve some stress somewhere okay?"

"What are you talking about?" Leon asked.

"Look, it's nothing personal, it's just that…" Stone began. "Well, damn it, Leon, I told you to stay low. They didn't even know we were there until you put that guy through the window up there. And as a result we lost two damn good officers and two innocent hostages. This whole thing has got you off your nerves. You need a break."

For a moment, Leon wanted to scream in protest and tell Stone about how he had to act to save the commissioner's life and the lives of the hostages on the sixth floor. But, he knew that it would only make things worse. He knew that Commissioner Stone valued all the help that Leon had given, and wouldn't say something like that unless it was to keep Leon out of trouble.

"I understand," Leon grunted. "Sir, be careful."

"Thank you," Stone nodded. "You too, my friend."

With that, Leon flew upwards out of sight, and towards his best friend's house.

Leon stomped through the front doors of Capsule Corp Mansion in anger. Without a word he moved to the enormous living room and collapsed on one of the leather sofas. He laid there in silence for a full half hour, contemplating to himself the events of the day.

Had he been too violent, too angry lately? It didn't seem that way. Not nearly as bad as Trunks. He felt terrible for Trunks. He had begged and pleaded for Trunks to let him go with him. But for some reason Trunks was adamant about having him stay on earth. Why? Did Trunks not think that he could be of any help to him. It seemed that since Shell's death, everyone had been somewhat angrier than usual.

Leon shrugged the thoughts as Bulma entered the room.

"Leon, sweetie," Bulma said happily. "How are you?"

"Honestly, I've had better days," he answered.

"Saving the city from the slime of humanity beginning to weigh on you?" she asked.

"Apparently so," Leon replied softly.

"What do you mean?" Bulma asked again.

"Commissioner Stone told me to take a break," he explained. "I get the feeling that his coworkers think I'm too violent."

"Maybe he just wants you to take some time to yourself, honey," she suggested. "Besides, how long have you been working with them on this? Ever since before Trunks left, right? Two, three months without a break? You know, if you deal with drug lords and gangs and criminals _all_ the time, eventually that's all you really see when you go outside. If you don't take a break some time, eventually your own quest will consume you."

There was an awkward silence; they both immediately thought of Trunks.

"Have you heard anything from him, Ms. Brief?" Leon asked.

"I received a transmission from him just a few days ago," Bulma answered. "Unfortunately, I've not heard anything since, and for some strange reason I can't seem to get any transmission through to him."

Leon raised his eyebrows in concern.

"Oh, I'm sure everything is fine," Bulma reassured him. "I'm sure my radio is just acting up. It's been getting a lot of interference here lately; not really sure what to make of it."

"Interference?" Leon questioned. "From what?"

"Oh, could be anything," she replied innocently. "Solar activity, cosmic storms, or who-knows-what else."

"But how long have you had this interference?" Leon wondered.

"Just since his last transmission," Bulma noted. "Why?"

"Just paranoia," Leon shrugged. "Sometimes when we do a raid, we use a sort of scrambler to cause all of the target's communication equipment to catch interference. It keeps them from communicating collectively."

"Oh, don't be silly," Bulma laughed. "I seriously doubt aliens are invading."


	5. Chapter 5: Cold Motives

Chapter 5: Cold Motives

With planet Chandarin behind them, Trunks and Avien headed for her home planet.

"It's not far," Avien informed. "It's the neighboring galaxy. Chandarin was so hell bent on conquest, his planet was the only one left in that galaxy. All the other planets and star systems have been either destroyed or not fit for life. We were next."

"Your people won't be bothered by him again," Trunks assured her. "And neither will anyone else."

Avien fell silent. She had not forgotten the brutality of Trunks' retaliation against the Chandarins. And she knew better than to bring it up. It was best to not mention it, despite her disagreement with his methods.

"Before I leave you," Trunks began, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?" she asked.

"I'm looking for a particular planet out here," Trunks explained. "I know that it is in one of three galaxies, but I don't know which one. Do you know of a planet that is populated by green-skinned people called Namekians?"

Avien stared in silence. A shrill look came over her. She nodded slowly.

"You know where it is?" Trunks asked excitedly.

"Yes," Avien replied shakily. "Trunks, I know which planet you're talking about, but you must promise me that you won't go there!"

"What?" Trunks asked confused. "Why?"

"There is a terrible dark power that rules that planet!" she exclaimed. "Once it appeared there a few months ago, my father sent a team of elite warriors to aid the peaceful Namekians. Only one warrior returned, and only within an inch of his life. Before his death he told his story of the encounter he had on Namek. It wasn't pretty. He warned us of some sort of robot monster! The Namekians from his story referred to it as a Frieza monster!"

"That's impossible," Trunks said grimly.

"Don't call me a liar!" Avien shouted.

"I'm not," Trunks argued. "But there's no way Frieza is on Planet Namek."

"You've heard of it?" she interrupted.

"Frieza?" Trunks answered. "Yeah, I killed him. It was many years ago, but there is no way he survived."

"Are you sure?" Avien questioned.

"Without a doubt," Trunks replied.

"Well, regardless," she said, "You have to promise me that you won't go there! It's too dangerous!"

Trunks didn't reply.

"Trunks!" Avien shouted.

"I won't lie to you," he replied quietly after a moment of silence. "Namek is the reason I've come all the way out here. I have to go there, sorry."

"Why?" Avien asked angrily. "What reason can be so important that it's worth dying over?"

"Avien, it's not something I'm going to negotiate," Trunks said firmly. "So please, mark it on this map for me."

"I won't do it," she protested. "You can't make me."

"That's true," Trunks agreed. "But you can't stop me from asking someone else when we get to your planet, either."

"Fine," Avien said, giving up. "I can't stop you from getting yourself killed, but I won't help you either."

"Fair enough," Trunks said indifferently. "We're almost there. If you'll excuse me, I have to get to the cockpit."

Avien watched sadly as the Saiyan turned and walked away from her. Why couldn't he understand? Was he blind? Or did he just not give a damn about her or himself? She couldn't understand why he would be so eager to cheat death again. If he was doing it just to make her mad, it was working. And if he was doing it to impress her, it was definitely not working. What was wrong with him? He seemed to be so impartial to everything… so numb. She intended to find out. Without further thought, she ran to the cockpit after him.

Trunks sat comfortably in the pilot's seat. Looking out into space, he could see Avien's home planet. He could see the blue oceans even from as far away as the ship was from the planet. It was beautiful, and it reminded him of home.

"How much longer?" Avien asked as she slid into the copilot's seat next to him.

Trunks' passive look changed to a stern one.

"We'll hit atmo in less than ten," Trunks replied.

"I changed my mind," Avien stated.

"About what?" Trunks asked.

"If you are that determined to get yourself killed, then I know you'll find the way to Namek one way or another," she explained. "So if I can't stop you, I might as well help you."

"You don't have to," Trunks replied.

"That's your damn problem!" she shouted suddenly. "You don't want anyone's help! You're so intent on doing whatever you're doing on your own! What is it that drives you like this?"

Trunks stared out the glass intently.

"What happened to you, Trunks?" Avien asked softly. "What happened to you to make you so cold?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," he answered softly.

"You want to know how to get there, right?" Avien asked. "Tell me what happened, and I'll tell you how to get there. Is that so hard?"

Trunks was silent for several moments, contemplating her ultimatum.

"Less than a year ago," Trunks began, "a monster attacked my world and killed hundreds of thousands of people. Innocent people; people that didn't deserve to die at the hands of a merciless killer. And I wasn't there to protect them. It's just as much my fault that they died as the monster that killed them. If only I had been there sooner…

The Namekians have these things called Dragon Balls. There are seven of them, and if you gather them together, they summon a giant dragon that can grant you one wish. Anything you want, but only one wish. I'm going to bring back those killed by that monster."

"I'm sorry, Trunks," Avien said sympathetically. "I had no idea."

"It's okay," Trunks assured her. "But that's why I'm here."

"But, Trunks," she questioned, "if the dragon only grants one wish, then how do you know it hasn't already done so?"

"Oh," he replied. "I forgot. After a wish is made, it takes one year before the balls can be collected and used again. But other than that, there is no limit on how many times the dragon can be summoned."

"I see," she said. "That makes more sense. Can I ask you one more question?"

He nodded slowly, turning to look at her.

"Why do you blame yourself so much?" she asked with piercing eyes.

Tears swelled at the corners of Trunks' eyes.

Avien understood now. In a way, she wished she could kiss Trunks to comfort him, but knew it would only make things worse. She had a new admiration for him. He was a true hero.

"I'm sorry," she said trying to comfort him. "You don't have to answer that one."

He looked back through the glass.

"What the–?" Trunks gasped.

Avien turned her attention to her planet, and her face turned pale.

"No!" she cried.

They were about to enter the atmosphere and could plainly see that the clouds were not white, but rather black. Fires were widespread across her planet. It looked like it had been attacked, recently.

"Hold on," Trunks shouted to a tearful princess. "This is probably gonna be a rough landing, but we'll get down there fast!"

Avien fastened her seat belt, and held tightly to the arm rests on her chair as Trunks piloted the ship through the wild storm clouds in the upper atmosphere. It was a breathtaking ride, but soon enough, they were through the clouds of lightning and ash, and could clearly see the devastated cities and landscapes.

"Who could have done this?" Trunks asked in awe.

"Dad?" Avien cried through tears.

Once the ship was on the ground, Trunks chased after Avien, who had already opened the air lock and was out of the ship.

"Dad!" she screamed into the ruined city.

"Avien!" Trunks shouted as he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Avien! Look at me! Look at me!"

She reluctantly stopped struggling and did as she was told.

"We're gonna find your dad," he reassured her. "But we can't go out there frantic like this! If whoever did this is still out there, we want to find them; not the other way around, okay? Calm down."

"Okay," she agreed, slowly calming down. "But we have to find my dad!"

"Okay, okay! We will," Trunks assured her. "So let's go to where ever you would normally expect to find him."

He followed the princess as she led the way through the capitol. As he followed her, he searched all around for a single life force, but found none. It was terrible! Lifeless bodies lay strewn around the city. In the streets, trapped in burning buildings, buried under rubble, Trunks could see them everywhere; all of them dead. But who could have done such a thing? This wasn't a conquest, it was genocide! Everyone was dead! He didn't want to upset Avien any further, but he could sense that there was _no one_ left alive on the planet. He followed in silence, trying not to focus too much on the destruction. It reminded him of all the destruction caused by Androids and Majin Buu.

"There it is!" Avien shouted.

Trunks looked up ahead. The palace was directly ahead, and it was in ruins.

"Dad!" Avien screamed as she landed on the steps leading up to the palace.

Trunks landed and held to her shoulders, preventing her from running into the burning tomb.

"It's too late, Avien," Trunks shouted.

"NO!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "DAD, NO!!"

Trunks surprisingly found himself having to strain to keep her from running into the wreckage.

"Avien!" Trunks shouted at her. "It's no use! I'm sorry, but there's no one left! I can't sense a single life force on this entire planet! He's gone, Avien. I'm sorry."

She dropped to her knees in disbelief, and collapsed as she cried.

Trunks felt terrible. Her entire planet was gone. And there was no trace as to what had caused it. He couldn't leave her on this graveyard planet. But it occurred to him that if he took her with him, she would be a serious liability. And what if she decided to make her own wish with the Dragon Balls? He couldn't blame her, but it would seriously complicate things. He didn't want to take her with him, but he couldn't leave her either. He had to.

"Avien," he said kneeling next to her. "Avien, I'm sorry."

He put his arm around her shoulder, and she turned and buried her face in his chest as she hugged him tightly. Immediately he felt awkward, but slowly lowered his arms around her small frame and held her as she cried. He stood holding her until his legs began to ache from standing in the same position for so long. Finally, he began to loosen his arms from behind her, and to his surprise, she looked up at him without trying anything. In his mind, Trunks breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on," Trunks said softly. "Let's get out of here."

She nodded, still tear-eyed.

He led the way as they flew back to the ship, but he stayed silent. There was nothing at all comforting that he could think of to say to her. Maybe that was what bothered him he most about the whole thing. There was nothing to be said.


	6. Chapter 6: New Namek

Chapter 6: New Namek

Trunks' spaceship floated silently through space. Once Avien had helped him plot a course to Namek, Trunks had shown her to a room below where she could have time to herself. He stared through the glass intently. Suddenly the same emptiness he saw in space seemed to spread around him. It was no different than when the Androids had taken Gohan; when Majin Buu had taken Shell. He had traveled so far only to find that the same destruction still shed its wrath upon other planets. Why could he travel nowhere without the pain of loss following him?

"Earth isn't the only place threatened by monsters, you know," the Supreme Kai's voice resonated through his mind.

Trunks blinked, removing his focus from the emptiness of space and focusing on Shin's voice.

"There are still other threats out there," Shin reminded mildly.

"And one of them completely destroyed Avien's world," Trunks said grimly.

"I fear that's not the worst of it," Shin interrupted.

Trunks hesitated before asking, "What do you mean?"

"I know what you seek on Namek, Trunks," Shin began, "but you must know that I sense dark power all around, my friend. I'm afraid that your quest may consume you."

"Grief is all that has consumed me," the Saiyan corrected. "Grief, anger, and despair are the only powers I sense around me, Supreme Kai. All I want is to try to set things right, but it seems like everywhere I go someone else needs my help."

"Sadly," Shin agreed, "there are so many in the universe that stand in need. But there are other heroes out there that I trust to defend those people. However, I must insist on my concern for you, Trunks."

"What are you afraid of?" Trunks asked.

Shin remained silent.

"You think my grief is controlling me?" Trunks suggested.

"Even the most noble of heroes, when led solely by their own desire, usually brings about their own end," Shin explained. "I do not wish to watch you follow the path to your own destruction."

"Majin Buu destroyed my world, Supreme Kai," Trunks argued. "If I fall to the path of self-destruction, know that I went to my death to save those that didn't deserve to die. I can live with that, and I can die with it."

"Very well," Shin sighed. "I cannot command you what to do, Trunks. But I would ask that you do this for me: take the help that is given to you. I feel you will need it."

"I may," Trunks said slyly. "If you will do me a favor."

"What's that?" Shin asked.

"It's actually for Avien," Trunks explained. "Avien is the princess of the planet that was destroyed. While I'm on Namek, I expect to have my hands somewhat full. Could you investigate the incident that happened on her planet, and let me know what happened there? When I'm finished with my business on Namek, I want to try to help her avenge her lost home."

"I will do everything I can," the Supreme Kai promised. "In the mean time, I just want you to focus on your business on Namek. Mercy be with you, my friend."

Trunks was silent for a moment. He had a strange feeling, like Shin was not telling him everything.

His thoughts were interrupted by the surprisingly pleasant question from Avien, "Do you talk to yourself often?"

"What?" Trunks replied confused. "Oh, I was just talking to the Supreme Kai. Every now and then, he speaks to me telepathically."

Trunks swiveled his chair slightly so that he was facing Avien. She had changed clothes while in her room. Bulma had made the ship in case they had ever needed to escape Earth. It seemed that she must have tucked away some of her clothes in one of the rooms.

Avien rolled her eyes and sighed, then added, "Maybe you've been up here too long."

"No, seriously," Trunks insisted.

"Whatever," she said, shrugging it off. "I found some clothes; hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," he replied.

He looked at her in his mother's clothes. He laughed inside knowing that she probably wouldn't be wearing them if she knew who they belonged to. She wore a dark red tank top and black pants with dark brown boots. He smiled, unable to contain his humor.

"Thanks," Avien said gratefully. "How close are we to Namek now?"

"According to the NavCom, we should be there within a couple of more minutes," Trunks said surprised. "Doesn't seem like we've been up here that long."

"Trunks," Avien began as she sat down next to him, "thank you for bringing me along."

He thought it strange that she should thank him. It was just decency.

"Well, I couldn't just leave you there," Trunks said softly.

"Yes," she corrected, "you could have. Thank you for not leaving me."

"You're welcome," Trunks said softly, unsure of what else to say.

"I was thinking," she continued. "You said that these Dragon Balls grant any one wish, and then you have to wait a year to make another?"

"That's right," the Saiyan confirmed.

"Would it be alright if I go with you to your planet after you make your wish?" she asked. "There's nothing here for me now, and if I come with you, maybe I can live with you on your planet until a year passes. Then, I can travel back to Namek and use the Dragon Balls to wish the people of my planet back."

He sighed inwardly. What was he going to tell her? No?

"…Okay," he said hesitantly.

Suddenly, he felt all his senses shudder at once. Shell's necklace rang out for his attention. Simultaneously, he shot a glance out the glass window in the cockpit.

"What is it?" Avien asked, concerned.

"Can you feel that?" Trunks asked, eyes wide.

"Damn!" Avien shouted. "Why do the Dragon Balls have to be on this planet?!"

"That's not Frieza…" Trunks whispered. "But it sure feels like him, immensely strong and evil… This must have been the power than Supreme Kai was sensing, not me…"

"There it is!" Avien exclaimed, pointing through the glass.

She was right. Trunks gazed with deep concern. It wasn't the planet that bothered him; it was the thing on it!

"What is that thing?" Trunks asked in disbelief.

"Not sure," Avien explained. "We were busy fighting Chandarin. Didn't really have the time to investigate it."

He had a very bad feeling about this. Something was wrong, very wrong. But they wouldn't know until they got on the planet. And Shell's necklace was still glowing bright. Whatever it was, Trunks knew it wasn't friendly. But it couldn't be Frieza… could it?

Anxiously, Trunks ordered Avien to strap herself in. He grasped hard at the flight controls and piloted his ship quickly towards Namek's atmosphere. He didn't care what evil waited for him on the planet's surface. He had a mission. He hoped for whatever-evil-it-was' sake, that it hadn't killed all the Namekians. Flames licked at the glass panes around the cockpit as Trunks' ship came nearer and nearer passing the upper atmosphere into the skies high above Namek.

With an explosion of cloud, Trunks and Avien cleared the upper atmosphere and passed over the beautiful, lush countryside of New Namek. With the rough ride behind them, Trunks slowed the ship until it came to a slow glide at around ten thousand feet.

"Where should we set down?" Avien asked quietly.

"Out of sight," Trunks explained without hesitation.

He began to lower the ship towards the ground into a large shadow cast by a plateau wall. The ship bounced lightly as it touched down.

"Let's go," he instructed.

Avien nodded silently and followed closely behind Trunks. Before making his way to the exit door, Trunks went to his private quarters and retrieved the Z Sword. With it, he made his way back up to the exit with Avien, and they opened the air lock. The door's hydraulics made a stereotypical hiss, and then slowly opened.

Trunks breathed deeply. It was good to smell fresh air. He floated down to the ground slowly, taking in the planet around him. It was really quite beautiful. He was surrounded by quiet, open land. Grass and trees spotted with occasional plateaus and mountains stretched to the horizon and farther.

"Wow," Avien gasped. "It's… so beautiful."

"Namekians are mostly farmers and teachers," Trunks explained. "Most of their planet is open land. They live spread out in small villages and don't have any large cities. In fact, they have only a small force of warriors. Then again, they've only ever had a handful of enemies; they're a peaceful people."

Trunks stopped talking and began to search the planet for any power levels he could find. He searched and searched, concentrating harder to try to find any trace. Nothing, well except for the obvious dark power resonating from the giant, star-shaped structure that seemed attached to the planet. But that was exactly what put a damper on the situation. Trunks searched again: nothing! Where could all the Namekians be? If he had come all this way, and they were all… They had better not be. Trunks expression changed from serious to severe frustration.

"What is it, Trunks?" Avien asked.

"Damn it!" he shouted. "I can't sense a single Namekian anywhere! Whatever is in that thing had better pray that I don't learn that it killed them all! If there isn't at least one Namekian somewhere on this planet, some bastard is gonna pay!"

"But that's an entire race of people!" Avien reminded.

"Yeah," Trunks agreed, "but that seems to be the pattern developing in this galaxy."

He knew as soon as he said it that it didn't help, and Avien's frown confirmed it.

"Well, it won't happen here!" Avien said confidently. "We need the Dragon Balls, and I won't give up!"

Trunks' memory flashed backwards in an instant. He remembered Shell's funeral, Master Roshi's eulogy, the tombstone… It said 'never give up…' He nodded to himself.

"I won't give up, Shell," he said softly aloud.

"What?" Avien asked immediately.

"Nothing," Trunks said, snapping out of it. "We're going to that, whatever it is. I have a feeling that if it's trouble, we'll find answers fast there. Let's go."

"Right behind you," Avien agreed.

Trunks locked the ship, and they flew off towards the dark structure on the horizon.


	7. Chapter 7: Cyclopean Guards

Chapter 7: Cyclopean Guards

Trunks flew just ahead of Avien, staying quiet and focusing on everything around him. He reassured himself that there was at least one Namekian still here. Shell wouldn't have sent him to the far reaches of space to discover that all the Namekians were dead… Would she? He shook it off. No, they were here somewhere; suppressing their power levels, no doubt. He would find them.

"Trunks, could you slow down some?" Avien asked straining.

Her question snapped Trunks out of his trance, and he immediately began to slow his pace.

"Thanks," she said, catching up. "Trunks, who is Frieza? You mentioned him earlier."

"Frieza," Trunks began hesitantly, "was a monster. He destroyed the Namekians' original home planet when he invaded, looking for the Dragon Balls. He was beaten in a battle with a hero, named Goku."

"Then, this power you're sensing on this planet couldn't be Frieza, right?" she asked. "He wouldn't have survived the battle, would he?"

"It happened before I was born," Trunks answered. "I, I don't know."

"Well, this hasn't exactly been our day for luck," Avien mentioned lightly.

"That's true," the Saiyan agreed. "But I wouldn't worry about it. Frieza wasn't that powerful. And I'm certain that he would not have forgotten what it was like to fight a Super Saiyan. It won't be something he'll want to do again."

"Super Saiyan?" she asked. "What's that?"

"Me," he answered. "Or rather, me when I'm angry. Remember when I destroyed that Phyramare in the coliseum? And my hair turned gold? That's what a Super Saiyan is. Think of it was an amazing power-up technique."

"Oh," Avien replied understandingly.

"We're nearly there," Trunks said seriously. "Keep an eye open for anything suspicious."

"Right," she affirmed.

She followed immediately behind Trunks as he flew down to the ground, landing a solid mile from where the wall of the structure touched the ground.

"We'll have to find a way inside that big thing," Trunks instructed, once on the ground.

"We could–," Avien began to say, "Wait, what's that sound?"

Immediately, Trunks jumped on top of her, burying her body under his. An instant after they had heard the subtle hiss, a deafening explosion quaked through the ground, shaking them both wildly. With the shockwave past, Trunks jumped to his feet and put an energy shield around himself and Avien. Smoke and debris rocketed past the energy shield, blocking any view of what had caused the explosion.

"What was that?" Avien shouted as she stayed crouched behind Trunks.

The Saiyan didn't answer. He used all his senses to search for any energy signals, but found nothing. It had to have been either a defense system or some type of robot. Patiently, he waited for the smoke to clear. As it did, he slowly began to make out the solid shapes of metallic bodies all around them. There were twenty of them.

"Surrender now," a robotic voice commanded.

Trunks looked around from within his shield. Twenty white, metallic robots stood in a circle around them. They each had a single blue optical receptor in the center of their heads.

"Surrender to whom?" Trunks replied coolly. "There's no one around to surrender to except for you spare parts, and I know that's not gonna happen."

"This will be your only chance," the leading robot announced. "If you decline, your lives are forfeit."

"And what if we surrender?" Avien asked quietly.

"Then your bodies will be integrated into useful parts for our master," the android answered emotionlessly.

"That's not much incentive for us to negotiate a mutually beneficial surrender then is it?" Trunks challenged. "You damn androids never get it do you?"

"Your answer is void," the robot confirmed.

"The hell is that supposed to me–, ah screw it!" Trunks said angrily. "Avien can you generate your own shield?"

"Yeah, of course," she replied quickly.

"Good, do it," Trunks said, dropping his shield.

He immediately flew forward, driving his fist through the robot's big, blue bubble in its forehead.

"Damn, that brings back good memories," he said cynically.

The robot's metal body flinched slightly, before sparking randomly at the shortage and exploding all around Trunks. Immediately, the others sprung to life. Out of the smoke two robots appeared, one on each side of Trunks. The one on his left swung, but Trunks ducked low, and retaliated with a swift reverse kick up into the middle of the robot's optical receptor. Stunned, it stood motionless for a moment. However, it was all of the time that Trunks needed. While still ducked down, Trunks retracted his boot instantly and swept the robot on his right off its feet with a quick trip of his foot. Following through with the motion of his outstretched foot, Trunks spun back around and grabbed the left robot's leg and slammed it into the airborne robot on his right. Broken metallic parts splintered through the air, as the two robots flew across the countryside into a rock face. In the blink of an eye, Trunks was already back on his feet.

"Is that it?" Trunks asked confidently.

Six robots were immediately moving in for attack. Trunks took to the air and exploded in power, bringing out his Super Saiyan form. The first robot to reach him, threw out its arm and its claw opened, emitting a large blue beam. However, before the beam had finished firing, Trunks appeared behind the robot facing the others, his sword unsheathed and pointed at them. Behind him, the robot's arms, legs, and head slowly fell apart from its body, and it exploded.

Two robots attacked simultaneously, but Trunks quickly slashed past both of them, their bodies falling in half behind him. Out of his spin, he threw his sword; it impaled the next robot in front of him. He disappeared quickly and reappeared instantly in front of the falling robot. As gravity pulled on the robot Trunks held onto his sword, and the machine slipped slowly off of his blade and fell away.

The remaining two robots were joined by ten more. Trunks retracted his blade and floated motionless, waiting. The first two machines disappeared and reappeared behind him. He turned to attack both of them, but was caught by something behind him. Trunks looked over his right shoulder. One of the mechanical creatures had elongated its clawed hand and locked onto his right hand. Instantly, he felt locking claws on all four of his limbs. Trunks pulled hard to escape, but their grasp was more powerful than he had guessed. As more claws locked onto his torso, the Super Saiyan lost grip on the Z Sword, and it fell down to the ground, stabbing blade-down into the dirt.

Trunks looked down below at his sword and then back at his enemies.

"Bastards," he grunted.

Without any warning, the extensions providing the machines' grappling hooks became electrified. Trunks screamed loudly as they ran as much current as their mechanical bodies could produce into him.

Back on the ground, Avien was faced with only one machine, but it was still proving too powerful for her to successfully bring down. When the others had left, she had dropped her shield and attempted to take on the one left to guard her.

"Why won't you go down?" she shouted as she launched an energy attack into the robot's face.

Unfazed, the machine walked blindly through the explosion. She flew forward, unleashing a barrage of attacks on the mindless, mechanical minion. Eventually, her attacks began to take a toll on the robot. As each blow connected, the machine slowly began to flinch more and more. She pulled back her fist, and charged a large amount of energy into it.

"Chew on this," she muttered as she slammed her glowing, red fist forward into the robot's gut.

A loud, metal crunch followed, and the machine showed signs of submission. Unfortunately, despite the fact that she had beaten it, the robot fired out its hooked fist as it fell. The claw was unimaginably fast, and caught Avien's left arm, pinning her to the ground. She looked over at the robot with a triumphant smile. She had beaten it. As she lay there catching her breath, she suddenly felt the tips of her hair standing on end. A look of panic spread across her face, and suddenly the robot's electric security system kicked in. Blue sparks shot from the robot's arm as electricity surged through it and Avien. She screamed out in agony.

Above his own screams, Trunks immediately heard Avien cry out. He looked down to where she was. If he didn't get out of his mess fast, Avien would be dead. He could feel her life force draining fast. He charged up immediately, screaming loudly. The sky started to glow around his body, as Trunks pushed his power as high as he could. Suddenly, a huge release of energy came over him, and he awoke a second level Super Saiyan. Lightning arced wildly around his body, and began working its way against the current surging through the machines' hooks.

Trunks stopped screaming, collected himself, and then released an immense wave of energy from his body, causing an instant overload on all the robots' electric appendages. One by one, their bodies began to crack and break, and then simultaneously they exploded in a blinding light. In a flash of light, Trunks was outside the cloud of smoke from the midair explosion and on his way towards Avien, except… there was no Avien.

"Avien?" Trunks cried. "Avien!"

He searched frantically around the area. The robot's arm had been severed where it lay, but she was nowhere near it. Then he felt her. He turned to his right, and there on the ground was an unconscious Avien with a medium-height green body crouched over her. Trunks slowed his sporadic breathing, and calmed himself back down to his normal form. He floated down to the ground and retrieved his sword, sheathed it, and then made his way over to Avien and the Namekian.


	8. Chapter 8: The Last Namekian

Chapter 8: The Last Namekian

Trunks stepped forward slowly. The Namekian knelt next to Avien, arms outstretched over her and palms open. Trunks watched silently as purple waves of energy resonated from the Namekian's hands outward over her body. While he worked, Trunks briefly examined the local's appearance. The Namekian's physical self was identical to Piccolo, only shorter; this one was only slightly taller than Trunks. He wore a cape, the top tucked tightly around his neck in the typical Namekian style. He had no shirt, rather a white vest with red trim, and his lower body was covered by white fighting gi pants with a red cloth belt, tied in the front, and he wore brown Namekian shoes. His power level was impressive, even to Trunks. As he healed her wounds, Trunks could sense Avien's power level rise and stabilize. As her life force evened, the Namekian stopped healing and cupped her head in his left hand.

"How do you feel?" he asked with a surprisingly light tone and pitch in his voice.

Avien's eyes squinted hard, and then she sighed lightly and opened her eyes.

"Am I dead?" she asked as she opened them.

"Far from it," her rescuer assured her.

When she realized who was kneeling over her, she immediately panicked and screamed fearfully in his face. She pushed herself out of his hands and quickly scurried away still screaming.

"Trunks! Trunks, where are you?!" she screamed. "Help!"

The green local's expression changed to a serious tone, and he stood up and watched the girl back away in terror.

"You're welcome," he said under his breath.

"Avien!" Trunks shouted as he stepped passed the Namekian. "Avien, stop screaming! He saved your life. Have some consideration."

She abruptly stopped screaming, but remained on the ground.

"I'm very sorry," Trunks apologized, turning towards the Namekian.

"It's okay," he assured Trunks. "I'm not surprised at her reaction. I suppose I should expect it."

"No," Trunks protested. "No, I'm very grateful. Thank you, I wouldn't have been able to reach her in time."

"It's perfectly fine," he repeated. "I'm glad that I could help."

Avien had managed to get to her feet, and she walked slowly towards them.

"Sorry I screamed in your face," she apologized. "And thank you for saving me."

"I'll live," the Namekian continued, "and you're very welcome."

"What were those things?" Trunks asked their new friend.

"They are called Cyclopean Guards by their master," he answered.

"Their master?" Trunks implied the question.

"A terrible monster that has plagued my planet for months," he explained. "A metal monster in the form of our worst nightmares: Frieza!"

"Are you certain it's Frieza?" Trunks asked suspiciously.

"It looks just like him, only taller," the Namekian continued. "I know I was only a child when I last saw him, but the resemblance is unmistakable! But if you don't mind my asking, how do you know of Frieza?"

Trunks thought for a moment in hesitation for a brief explanation that would be sufficient. "Goku," he answered.

"You know Goku?!" the Namekian asked exitedly.

"Knew," Trunks corrected grimly. "He died many years ago. I'm the last."

"The last?" the Namekian began. "His son, Gohan… what became of Gohan?"

"He was my master, teacher, and friend," Trunks answered sadly. "He died when I was thirteen."

The Namekian stood silent and still for a moment. He looked as though he would cry.

"You knew him?" Trunks asked softly.

"Yes," he answered. "I fought along side him against Frieza on my original home planet before it was destroyed by Frieza. My name is Dende."

Trunks was silent for a moment as he thought. Dende? Wasn't that the name of the new guardian of Earth in Goku's timeline? If he remembered correctly, that Namekian didn't have nearly as high a power level as the one that stood before him. How could the death of one man change history so dramatically? Goku's death was causing evil everywhere in the universe to flourish.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Dende," Avien said, breaking Trunks' chain of thought.

"My name is Avien, I'm from the Trill planet," she explained. "And this is Trunks, he's from Earth."

"Trunks," Dende said slowly. "You have the highest power level I have ever felt in an Earthling."

"Half," Trunks again corrected. "My blood is also that of a Saiyan."

"Which explains your transformation against those robots," Dende deduced. "Interesting…"

"Look," Trunks said, suddenly getting the feeling that their new friend was planning his own agenda. "I'm afraid this isn't a social call. I came here for–."

"The Dragon Balls," Dende finished for him. "Yes, I know."

Trunks knew better than to ask why.

"I have all but two of them," Dende explained.

"Where are the other two?" Avien asked instinctively.

"The Frieza monster has the other two within his metallic fortress," Dende answered. "He is insanely powerful, and I would have no chance of collecting the other two by myself."

Suddenly it became clear to Trunks. Why he had not felt any life forces on the planet… why this guy had been hiding…

"You're the last," Trunks declared. "You're the last Namekian, aren't you?"

Dende's expression changed to a sad tone. He lowered his head.

"Yes," he replied. "And no."

"What?" Avien asked in confusion.

Trunks was intently concentrating on reading the Namekian's mind. It was hard, it was like trying to pick someone out of a crowd of a hundred, and they were the only three standing there.

"You'll have a hard time trying to do that," Dende said suddenly. "Guess it's a neat defense against mind-readers. An unexpected side effect, but most welcome. You see, when the Frieza monster invaded our planet, all the Namekian warriors prepared for battle. My job was actually only to heal the wounded.

Unfortunately, the battle was a massacre. They had no chance against this new metal Frieza! He killed them all! Effortlessly… Or so he thought. I raced around the battlefield attempting to heal all that I could, but they were falling faster than I could revive them. In the end, I was forced into hiding and was unable to return to the field until after Frieza had left to deal with the villagers.

The fallen warriors decided that rather than have me revive them so that they could be beaten again, they would rather pass their power on to me. So, one by one, I synced my being with each and every one of them that were not already slain. When I returned to the village, the elders also endowed me with their spirits. So in essence, I am the last of them, but they all reside within me."

"So there are like a hundred of you inside you?" Avien asked coarsely. "That's kinda gross."

"So after syncing with everyone, you still weren't powerful enough to beat this metal Frieza?" Trunks asked.

"Yes, once," Dende answered.

"The hell's that mean?" Trunks asked irritably.

"Well, I beat him," the Namekian continued. "But as soon as I did, another one took its place."

"You mean another one of these Frieza monsters just sprung up out of the ground?" Trunks inquired skeptically.

"You'll do well not to take this so lightly," Dende replied quickly. "I thought I destroyed him, but then his body pieced itself back together, and his power level more than doubled. And what's worse is he claims that if anyone beats him he'll only come back stronger and stronger every time!"

"That's crazy!" Avien claimed. "There's no way!"

"There's always a way," Trunks argued. "Trust me, there's always some bastard out there thinking of new and inventive ways of killing off a prey species. I've seen it happen to the point that I'm not really surprised anymore."

"Individually, we would all fall," Dende explained. "But together, I think I have a plan that could get us the Dragon Balls."

"Alright!" Avien said enthusiastically. "What are we waiting for?"

"Why do you want them?" Trunks asked, interrupting. "What wish do you want to make?"

"I don't really have any particular wish in mind," Dende answered. "Mostly I just wanted to get them to keep them away from Frieza. Last time he got them he was after eternal life. There's no reason this time should be any different."

Trunks turned away and thought to himself for a moment. It was risky. All three of them were the last of their kind, and all three of them had a motive behind a potential wish. This was his only chance at reviving Shell, and if he were betrayed because one of them wanted to see their families again, then what? Or even worse, what if Dende should be killed while they were trying to get the Dragon Balls? If that should happen then everything would be for nothing. It was too risky. And regardless of his exceptional power level, Trunks was still not convinced that Dende was a competent fighter, and he didn't care for any proof.

Trunks reached into his shoulder pocket and retrieved his necklace. As he held it in his hand, he thought of Shell and how he wished that she were there right now. He didn't know what decision to make; everything was riding on far too thin a thread. And he didn't like it at all.

"Trunks," Dende said, interrupting Trunks' thoughts.

Trunks immediately put the necklace back in his pocket and turned to face Dende.

"Here's my plan," Dende explained. "Since you're definitely the strongest, Trunks, I think you should fight Frieza and keep him busy. While you keep him occupied, Avien and I should be able to infiltrate his fortress and find the other two Dragon Balls. With them, we can escape back to my cave to get the others."

"Then we could load all seven onto the ship and get off this rock," Avien added. "You could beat Frieza then, and while he was healing himself, you could get to the ship in time for us to get the hell out of here!"

Trunks remained silent.

"What do you think?" Avien asked energetically. "It's a good plan, right?"

Still, Trunks said nothing.

"I know it's risky on your part," Dende remarked, "but you're the only one who can stand up to him."

Dende was right about that part. Trunks began thinking again. He was the only one of them that he felt could take care of himself. The others were a liability. In the back of his mind, he felt perhaps that reasons like this were the reason his father had always opted to work alone. He had made up his mind, but needed a few small details.

"Dende," he began, "I need to know a few things."

"Okay," Dende answered cooperatively.

"The Eternal Dragon," he continued, "how many wishes does he grant?"

"Only one," the young Namekian answered. "I didn't make the Dragon Balls, they were created by a Namekian I synced with, but they survive through me."

"Do you know of any limitations on the Dragon Balls?" Trunks asked.

"We've never used them," Dende replied. "But after we summon the dragon, I can ask him."

"Okay, one more thing," Trunks concluded. "If this robotic Frieza can repair damage done to his body on his own, why would he need to wish for eternal life? I mean, has he ever said anything about it?"

"Uh, no," his green friend answered shallowly.

"So we have no idea what his motive is?" Trunks pointed out. "Look, I'm going to be very frank with you, Dende. I need the Dragon Balls, its very important. If I send you and Avien in to get them while I fight this guy, there's no telling what you may run into in there. I can't run the risk of you two getting hurt, okay?"

"I appreciate your concern, Trunks, but–," Dende replied, but was cut off.

"No!" Trunks said firmly, raising his voice. "I've come too far, and too much is riding on this for you to get yourself killed, and the Dragon Balls disappearing forever! You're too important for me to let either of you get involved."

"Trunks," Avien said softly, "thank you for thinking of our well-being, but we want to help you by doing our part."

"It's got nothing to do with that!" he snapped. "I don't care if you want to help or not! That's not the point! I have things to take care of here, and I'm not going to let anything get in the way of that! You two will stay in Dende's hideout until I've finished turning Frieza into a recycled aluminum can. When I'm finished destroying everything in my way, then I'll bring the other two Dragon Balls to you, understand?"

"My friend," Dende tried to urge, "you must let us help you. I can sense that you won't be able to do this alone."

"I don't care what you sense!" Trunks shouted in protest. "I'm going to do this myself so that nothing goes wrong!"

"So is that what you think of us?" Avien asked, hurt. "You think we're just in the way, waiting to screw up don't you? You're so full of yourself. And I was stupid enough to think you cared about anyone but yourself."

Why was she doing this? What was her problem? She didn't understand and she was only making things worse. And it was starting to seriously piss Trunks off.

"You know what, Avien?" Trunks said, snapping. "You're absolutely right! I only care about myself. So since I'm such an asshole, why don't you just go back the ship and be pissed about it. Since you have everyone figured out, and know exactly what everyone wants, just shut up and go back to the ship."

Tears swelled in Avien's eyes. She wanted to scream the most devastating obscenity she could think of at Trunks, but she felt so crushed by his harshness that she could only stand there and cry.

Dende remained silent. He didn't want to get into a fight with the only people who could help him free his planet, but at the same time he certainly detested Trunks' arrogance.

"Avien," Dende said comfortingly, "come with me. There's nothing we can do here."

"At least one of you can see the truth," Trunks snorted.

"You know, Trunks," Dende said vengefully. "I know that you mean well, and that you're a good person. But your actions now remind me of a Saiyan I met many years ago when I was a child. I never thought I would meet anyone nearly as arrogant as that Saiyan, but you've proved me wrong. I hope you learn to channel your anger and fear one day, my friend. I would hate for you to meet the same end as he did. Think about that."

Dende hit a nerve, and Trunks lowered his head in shame. But Avien had already walked over to Dende, and they were making their way away from Trunks. He regretted his words already. But then suddenly, his necklace was burning a hole in his arm.

"Don't leave now," a deep voice commanded menacingly. "The drama and suspense was building so rapidly. I was half expecting you three to tear each other apart before I even had the opportunity."

They all turned to the metal-blue humanoid creature at the top of a hill.

"Oh no!" Dende cried. "It's him!"

Avien's face grimaced with fear as she stepped behind Dende.

"You're not Frieza," Trunks grunted. "Unless Frieza went through puberty since I last met him."

The creature laughed softly. "No, I'm not Frieza," it explained. "Frieza was my brother. I am Cooler."


	9. Chapter 9: Cooler's Revenge

Chapter 9: Cooler's Revenge

Loose dust danced across the surface of Planet Namek. The same light breeze that lifted the loose particles nipped softly at the stray strands of lavender hair in front of Trunks' eyes. His cold stare pierced fiercely into Cooler's own robotic red eyes. The creature's metallic body was blue and light violet in color. Most of its body was covered in the blue armor, but hints of violet softness were scattered across its body at its ribs, biceps, and face. It did look remarkably like Frieza, but larger and more menacing.

"Cooler, huh?" Trunks asked, pretending to be unimpressed. However, he pondered to himself how the cyborg could have come out of nowhere without him sensing it.

"That's right," the apparent Cooler replied.

"I didn't know Frieza had a brother," Trunks began, "or else I would have killed you off too."

"I take it you met my brother?" Cooler assumed.

"Briefly," Trunks answered grimly.

"I'm surprised," the cyborg continued. "Frieza always was a talker. I'm surprised he didn't preach to you for hours about how miserable you are."

"We had our differences," explained the Saiyan. "But, a few threats, explosions, and craters later, he finally got my point and suffered a total come-apart… figuratively speaking." He knew it wouldn't be worth the effort to try to explain to Cooler how he had killed Frieza, because in his timeline, Goku had done so.

Cooler's expression changed to a serious tone.

"Frieza was not one to suffer weaklings to live," he said observantly.

Trunks remained silent.

"It doesn't matter," he concluded. "You still stand on hopeless ground facing me."

"We'll see," Trunks retorted.

"Indeed we shall," Cooler shot back. "By the way, I must thank you though. Your little run in with my Cyclopean Guards seemed to have disturbed the Namek over there. After my last run in with him, he disappeared. I expected he had most likely fled the planet somehow, but it seems you've found the little pest for me."

Dende took a step away from the monster he had fought once before. He had not forgotten the horror that the mechanical nightmare had brought upon his people.

"You'll leave him alone!" Avien shouted firmly, stepping between Cooler and Dende. "He didn't do anything to you. If you want him, you'll come through me first."

Cooler laughed softly, and Trunks rolled his eyes.

"Avien," Trunks said, "You and Dende stay out of this. I'll take care of him."

"Up yours, Trunks!" Avien shouted back. "You're too arrogant today to take care of anyone but yourself, so just focus on who you take care of most."

"Lovers' quarrel?" Cooler asked with a grin.

"We are _not_ lovers," she corrected, making herself very clear.

Trunks shook his head angrily. "Look!" he shouted. "I don't have time for this stupidity! And I'm not gonna play around with you people! I want the other two Dragon Balls. Where are they?"

"Dragon Balls?" Cooler asked. "The orange colored orbs that this Namek tried to take from me?"

"Where are they?" Trunks repeated. "I need them, and I don't have time to play twenty questions."

Cooler smiled cynically, hesitating. "They're safe," he answered.

Between Avien and Cooler, Trunks didn't know who was pissing him off faster, but his anger was rising quickly.

"I won't ask again," Trunks said through gritted teeth.

Cooler's cool, collective smile didn't fade.

Trunks was ready to attack, when Dende's voice found its way into his mind.

"Trunks!" Dende's voice resounded in his mind. "Wait! Before you attack him, listen to me! I know that you don't want me to risk my life, because it would mean the end of the Dragon Balls if I die. But you must consider our options! Cooler knows that I'm alive now, and we no longer have the element of surprise. Me staying hidden is no longer an option, you know this! I know that you do not wish to trust me, but I implore you to. If you can keep Cooler busy, there will be no defense at his base. We've destroyed all of his guards, and if you keep him busy, I can get you the Dragon Balls. Trust me…"

Trunks hesitated. Dende did have a point. But was he really prepared to put so much responsibility into someone's hands he had only just met? He didn't want to, but Dende was right. There was no other way; Cooler just wanted to exterminate Namekians. If Trunks didn't keep him busy, there would be no where for Dende to hide. It looked like the Supreme Kai was right. Everywhere he seemed to go, he met friends that were prepared to fight to their deaths to help him. Maybe he should be grateful.

"I have your word?" he finally replied silently.

"Every one," Dende answered solemnly.

Trunks turned to face Dende and Avien, putting his back to Cooler.

"When I attack him," Trunks said telepathically to the Namekian, "I want you to wait until the battle heats up. But when it does, I want you to take Avien and go find the other two Dragon Balls."

"You can count on it," Dende replied happily.

"Have you decided on your odds yet?" Cooler said, interrupting their mental conversation. "Surrender will be much less painful."

"Be careful, Dende," Trunks said, while some of his anger subsided. "And please take care of Avien, she means well."

Dende nodded understandingly and smiled.

Trunks half smiled back.

Avien thought that Trunks was looking at her, and for a moment let her anger at him dispel. Then she realized what was going on. Trunks and Dende were planning something, and her expression went from a calm look to that of worry.

Trunks immediately became a Super Saiyan, lighting up the area around him with his golden glow. In an instant, he had turned and flew dead on into Cooler landing a massively powerful punch into the side of Cooler's face.

The cyborg didn't flinch. Reflexively, Trunks' eyes widened significantly. Cooler's grin had faded; his cheek remained hard around Trunks' fist. Just below the hill rise, Dende and Avien both stared with wide open mouths.

"Surely that's not the best you can do," Cooler muttered modestly.

"There's no way," Trunks thought to himself. "Dende," he said telepathically to the Namekian, "Take Avien and get out of here now!"

Immediately, Dende grabbed Avien by the arm and bolted away from the action.

"It looks as if the Namek is doing what he does best," Cooler mocked arrogantly. "…Running. I am curious though. I thought that Goku was the only Super Saiyan. Who are you to have obtained such power?"

Trunks ignored the cyborg's question and powered up until he felt Cooler's face beginning to give way.

"Good," he thought to himself. He had just underestimated Cooler's power. He could still beat him.

"You are very strong," Cooler complimented. "But it won't be enough."

Without warning, Trunks expanded his fist into an open palm and brought his left hand up to complement it, then fired an immense, yellow energy attack. His beam instantly consumed and rushed by Cooler, exploding on the horizon. He half smiled with relief, but only for a moment. As the smoke cleared, Cooler was no where to be found. He immediately began searching the surrounding landscape for any sign of the mechanical menace. The damn machine had no power level, thus making it incredibly hard to track him.

"Impressive," Cooler complimented. "Your power is much higher than the Saiyan that I fought the last time I was on Earth."

Trunks looked up. Somehow Cooler had managed to make a massive dodge up into the air. But at the close range that Trunks had fired his beam, wouldn't a dodge maneuver be impossible?! He powered up again and quickly flew towards his enemy in the sky.

"What are you talking about?" Trunks asked as he reached the cyborg.

"Many years ago, I traveled to Earth to exact revenge on those responsible for my father's death," Cooler explained. "Frieza was not much of a loss; he was an arrogant little thing anyway. But the dishonor of my family line by my father's death was not something that I was prepared to tolerate. Unfortunately, the Saiyan responsible, one named Goku, was far more powerful than I had expected. He was allowed to dishonor my family further by beating me in battle. And now, when I'm finished draining the life from this miserable little planet, I'll return to Earth and take not only Goku's life, but his entire planet's life!"

Trunks remained quiet, taking it all in. There was even more history that he didn't know about?! He had thought for sure that he had researched all that had happened before he was born! His mind flashed back to his conversation many years ago in the past with Goku. He remembered that after Goku landed, he mentioned that he had a technique that would have allowed him to get to Earth and keep Frieza and his father from destroying the planet. He expected that was how he had done so in Trunks' own timeline. But wasn't Goku supposed to die shortly after that? He must have fought Cooler shortly after, before the Androids surfaced on the planet. That would have been the only way.

"If all you want is Goku dead, then why stop here and kill the Namekians?" Trunks asked.

"It was a much closer planet than Earth," Cooler continued to explain. "And it's my understanding that these green creatures have some sort of bond to each other; if you destroy one, all the others will come to its aid. I remembered that there were Dragon Balls on Earth, so there must have been a Namek on the planet somewhere. And I knew that if I killed enough of these creatures that the one on Earth would come to help, dragging Goku along with him. It was just an educated guess to try to fight Goku sooner. Pity it seems to have not worked."

"You're no idiot," Trunks said. "I give you that. Your plan should have worked, it's nearly perfect. But Goku is dead. He died shortly after his battle on Earth with you. So your wait has been for nothing."

"Goku is dead?" Cooler asked with a look of shock. "Who destroyed him?"

"Not who, what," Trunks corrected. "The same thing that eventually claims everyone. He died of a viral disease that attacks the heart."

Cooler immediately bust out into laughter.

Not amused, Trunks searched the surrounding landscape for Dende's power level. Good, he was almost to the fortress.

"How ironic!" Cooler snorted. "Who'd have thought that one so powerful would be destroyed by a mere sickness? I don't know whether I should be glad or feel cheated."

"Either way, Goku isn't coming," the Super Saiyan reasoned. "So you have no business on Earth or New Namek. So why don't you just give me the Dragon Balls, and we both go our separate ways?"

"There's only one thing wrong with that, Super Saiyan," the cyborg argued. "The only separate ways that I'm prepared to accept are me destroying this planet, and you dying with it."

Without warning, Cooler charged towards Trunks engaging in a wild barrage of punches and kicks. Immediately, Trunks begin blocking and dodging, but as he gained the opportunity, be began counterattacking with his own blows. Their aerial battle continued in the same fashion, with no one really gaining the upper hand.

* * *

"This way!" Dende shouted to Avien. "And do your best to suppress your power level, we don't want to show up on the defense system's scanners."

"This thing has defense systems?" she asked.

"Yes," the Namekian replied. "But if I had told Trunks that he would never have agreed to let us go."

"Who cares what he thinks?" she argued. "The only thing he cares about is the Dragon Balls."

"Try not to judge him too harshly," Dende explained. "I sense that he lost many that he loved in his previous battles. It would be no surprise to expect that he blames himself and wishes to set things right."

"He still shouldn't treat us like that," she retorted. "We're only trying to help him."

"When one stands on the brink of losing everything, it is common for one to become aggressively defensive, even towards one's friends," he replied.

They had reached the wall of the massive star-shaped structure that lay stretched out across the land.

"What now?" Avien asked.

Dende pondered for a moment. He didn't exactly have a plan for getting in unnoticed.

"Surely there's a door or something around somewhere," Dende suggested.

Avien sighed. Without a word she charged up a red energy blast and exploded a gaping hole in the side of the wall.

"Oh, look," she mentioned innocently, "a door."

"Are you crazy?!" Dende asked angrily. "We must keep quiet or you'll bring Cooler's entire army down on us!"

"But you said that you told Trunks that the Dragon Balls are likely unguarded," Avien reminded him.

He crossed his arms and gave her a hard, slant look.

"Oh," she said embarrassingly. "Or you could have been bluffing… My bad, my bad!"

"Hopefully, this won't take long, and our visit will go unnoticed," Dende hoped as they flew into Avien's makeshift entrance.

* * *

Trunks and Cooler continued to swap blows as their battle raged across the skies of New Namek. They had been fighting for a full fifteen minutes and no one had managed to land a single blow. Finally after an attempted kick, Cooler pushed away and floated away from Trunks giving them both a break from the action. Trunks immediately searched for Dende and Avien and was glad to know that they were already inside Cooler's base.

"At this rate," Cooler interjected, "You have no hope of winning. Because whereas your power level will slowly begin to decrease as the fighting continues, mine will not."

"Don't count on it," Trunks sneered, wanting to keep Cooler's focus on himself and off of events happening elsewhere.

He again fired a bright, one-handed beam at point blank range into Cooler's face. But as the beam cleared the target area, Trunks again noticed that Cooler wasn't there. He turned around just in time to catch Cooler's fist in the jaw. Stunned, he was knocked backwards until he caught himself and stopped.

"How could he dodge something that close?!" Trunks asked himself.

"I take it you've never seen that trick?" Cooler assumed. "Interestingly enough, that technique I picked up from your friend, Goku."

"What do you mean?" the Saiyan asked.

"You see, you can't beat me," Cooler explained. "When I fought Goku on Earth, he finally managed to kill me by pushing me through the planet's sun. Fortunately, some of my cells survived the incinerating heat. As they floated through space, they eventually were found by an extremely powerful microprocessor. On an alien world somewhere, a race of beings were some of the most technologically advanced in the universe. They managed to develop a microprocessor that not only maintained actual intelligence, but was capable of learning and correcting any errors in its programming.

Unfortunately for them, it was lost in a little run-in they had with space pirates in a galaxy not too far from here. As this chip floated through space it began to reconstruct its ship into a vessel suitable for its needs. Its needs were simple: power. As this vessel floated through space, the processor absorbed everything around it, recreating it without flaws. And that's when it found me. It took the last genetic information from my cellular structure and recreated much of my body. Unfortunately this was a tedious task, and so the chip decided to make fully robotic clones of my essence to serve as body guards while it reconstructed my organic form for itself.

I don't really mind, because in a sense it's a ticket to immortality. I can't get old, or frail, or even sick, like our late friend, Goku. And every time I suffer damage, my body is reconstructed to prevent the damage from occurring again. Thus, my ability to use of Goku's most favored technique. Even your friend, the Namek, managed to beat me once, but I came back even more powerful and with a host of new techniques.

As for the massive construct attached to this planet, it is the form of the microprocessor's final form. It is called the Big Gette Star. As I said, the processor needed power, and the Big Gette Star does just that. By attaching itself to a planet, it manages to drill deep inside a planet, robbing it of all of its natural minerals and energies. I must admit, it really is modern technological breakthrough. And I'm not much of one for science."

So that explained it. Trunks figured that the move Cooler was using to move such great distances was the same that Goku had used to get to Earth in time to beat Frieza and his father. Which meant that he had to beat this guy quickly, or Cooler would just learn from his attacks until the Saiyan would have nothing left to hit him with. Trunks had to admit, it was an incredible technological achievement. Too bad it was just like Gero's Androids and was being used for evil means. He knew he didn't have much time to spare.

Trunks immediately burst into Super Saiyan 2 form and drew his sword. Mustering enough strength to make sure that Cooler couldn't block it, he flew forward and swung his blade straight through Cooler's neck with a horizontal slice.

After Cooler had enough time to shed his surprise and realize what had just happened, his face displayed a severe look of shock and cybernetic pain, and his entire body lost its relaxed state to a stance of failed defense. His fingers and tail spasmed minutely.

It seemed almost like Trunks' slice had moved faster than physics could keep up with, and a split-second later, Cooler's head separated from his body and began to slowly float away in the direction of the slice.

Trunks knew better than to wait for Cooler's body to repair itself, and he immediately sheathed his sword. Gathering as much energy as he could in a short amount of time, Trunks brought both hands together in front of him and unleashed a devastating Buster Cannon Attack, his own version of his father's famed Final Flash.

In an immense flash of light and energy, Trunks could see most of Cooler's body being vaporized by his attack. With any luck, the battle was over…


	10. Chapter 10: The Shadow Over Earth

Chapter 10: The Shadow Over Earth

Leon stood on the patio balcony overlooking downtown West City. It was a clear, quiet evening, and the sun was sinking into the ocean on the other side of the city, casting a soothing orange glow over the city. The clouds lining the horizon at sea were blue on top, white in the middle, and pink on the bottom as they reflected the fleeting sunlight.

"Earth is still just as beautiful as it has ever been," Shin said softly as he emerged from the shadows of the Capsule Corp Mansion. "Despite its many encounters with the monsters that have threatened its existence, it still holds its beauty and composure."

"Supreme Kai!" Leon said surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"Right now I'm here to enjoy the beauty of this world's sunset," Shin procrastinated.

"It is awfully pretty," Leon agreed. "Wish that all the slime ball criminals in the city out there could appreciate it."

"I suppose the ripples of Majin Buu's wave have not all vanished yet, have they?" Shin said apologetically. "I am terribly sorry."

"Not your fault," Leon assured him. "Just one of those things. Guess everything has been a bit darker since Shell died. Even Trunks… Especially Trunks."

"Yes," the Kai agreed. "Yes, I know what you mean."

"Sometimes I kinda feel like I let him down, Supreme Kai," Leon admitted. "He asked me to look after her, and, well, I didn't."

"Nonsense," Shin corrected. "You did all that you or anyone else could have done. Believe nothing other."

"Then why didn't Trunks trust me to go with him?" he asked. "Why wouldn't he let me help?"

"Trunks' journey is his own right now, my friend," Shin answered. "As is ours."

"What do you mean?" Leon asked inquisitively.

"Fate, it seems, is again at work on this planet," the Supreme Kai explained. "And once again, I'm asking you for your help. It's strange, but I sense strong destiny in you and Trunks. Everywhere you two go you make friends who always come to your aid in times of need. I am honored to be one of those friends."

"Supreme Kai," Leon interjected, "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I don't quite follow you. What's wrong?"

"Just an old Kai's ramblings," he said with a smile, but then it slowly faded. "I'm afraid I've come to warn you. Again, your planet is on the brink of war. Even now, a shadow of evil is descending upon Earth. Within the week, I fear Earth will be surrounded by it. It will not be long now."

"Whoa, hold on a minute," Leon cried. "Shadow of evil? What do you mean, Supreme Kai?"

"Saiyans," Shin answered softly. "We thought they were all destroyed. It was believed that Trunks was the last, but our worst fears have been realized. For the past month, I had been focusing on a strange power that has been creeping across the galaxy. After I learned that Trunks was on a journey across the universe, I located him. I sensed a dark energy near him, and for a moment I thought it was him. But he missed it. And as a result, that power is on its way to Earth as we speak."

"You mean Saiyans?" Leon clarified. "Saiyans are invading Earth?"

"Not exactly," Shin restarted his explanation. "As I said, we believed that Trunks was the last, but not so. There aren't many left, maybe as many as a dozen, but we're not sure. As soon as I learned of this matter I called for a Kai Council, and according to everything I've learned we believe that a handful of Saiyan warriors have gathered an army and are looking for their last surviving relatives. We believe those to be Goku and Vegeta. Obviously, they won't find them because they are no longer living, but the Saiyan's have been searching tirelessly for them. Namek was destroyed, but it was the last place they looked. That means that their next stop will be Earth. And there's only one thing for sure when they get here and don't find who they're looking for. Earth will be enslaved if it is even allowed to endure."

"Well, then what are we going to do?" Leon asked loudly. "We have to find Trunks! We have to tell him to come back before the Saiyans arrive!"

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple anymore," Shin explained. "You see, Trunks is light years away, and fighting his own battle right now. He will come to help, but not immediately. It will be up to us to protect Earth until he returns."

"We've already tried this!" Leon argued. "The last time it cost Shell her life! This buying-time plan never works! It only gets people killed!"

"This is the only option we have," the Supreme Kai reasoned.

"Well, it's not good enough!" Leon shouted. "If we're going to be fighting an army, we're gonna need one of our own. And right now there are only two of us. We need a plan."

"I didn't come here to tell you that this would be easy," Shin said quietly.

"Well, that's good," Leon said cynically. "Because you certainly haven't."

Shin looked at Leon hard.

"I'm sorry," Leon sighed. "It's just that, you saying that we have to fight an army of Saiyans is like you saying we're fighting an army of Trunks. You and I both know that we can't stand up to something like that; we need more people."

"Then what do you suggest?" Shin asked.

"How long do you think we have before the Saiyans are within range of attacking us?" he questioned.

"Perhaps three or four days," the Supreme Kai replied.

"Then we had better be recruiting, and doing it fast," Leon stated firmly. "Do you have any idea where you could find people willing to fight with us?"

"I could check some of the southern-most galaxies," Shin answered. "There might still be some warriors friendly to our cause there."

"Then that's where you should check first," Leon agreed. "I'll see what I can come up with on this planet, Supreme Kai, but in all honesty, we both know that the people of Earth aren't up for this kind of fight."

Shin nodded in agreement.

"Check back with me before three days have passed, and let me know who you have found to help us," Leon instructed.

"I will, but first I must return to the Kai Planet," he explained. "There are some spirits that I must speak with first. It may be possible that we may attain our army with far fewer bodies…"

"What?" Leon asked, confused.

"Never mind," the old Kai assured. "Just find as many people with decent fighting powers as possible while I'm away."

"I'll do my best," he replied. "Just don't get your hopes up…"

"Right," Shin said in parting. "Good luck, my friend. I will see you again soon."

"Good luck to you too," Leon wished. "Don't be late."

The Supreme Kai smiled at Leon's joke as he disappeared from the balcony.

"Good luck…" Leon said to himself quietly. "Never is."

Silently, he took to the skies and began his global search for warriors to aide in the defense of the Earth.

Just outside of Earth's solar system, an ominous power crept closer and closer to their quiet planet.


	11. Chapter 11: Retribution

Chapter 11: Retribution

Trunks exhaled deeply, watching Cooler's crumpled and battered body fly towards the ground. It was the first time in months that he had expended as much energy as he did forming the attack he used to put Cooler down. Winded and sweating lightly, Trunks watched Cooler's body intently for any sign of life. The scorched metallic body lay there on the dusty earth, motionless. Trunks noticed Cooler's head had fallen against a slope and had slowly begun to roll towards its beaten body. The robotic head bounced lightly of its body's thigh with a metal bang.

Trunks wiped the sweat from his brow. He could see Cooler's red eyes staring up at him. Then, suddenly Cooler's eyes blinked. Trunks inhaled deeply, opening his mouth. He watched in amazement as long wires exploded out of the body's neck and attached to the base of Cooler's severed head. The restoration only lasted a few seconds, but it seemed like several minutes to Trunks as he watched the wires expand and contract around its damaged hull, repairing itself until it was whole again.

"That's not good," Trunks said to himself.

Cooler stood up slowly, stretching his metal joints at his shoulders and wrists as he did so. He looked up at Trunks and smiled malevolently. Trunks sneered back and drew his sword. Sword in hand, he took a defensive fighting stance, and floated in wait. Cooler continued to smile, and then he disappeared. Trunks blinked. He knew this would not be good. Then out of nowhere, Cooler appeared right in front of him.

"Wha–?" the Super Saiyan grunted as Cooler's fist crashed into the side of his face.

Rather than following through with a continuous string of blows, Cooler retracted his fist and stood up straight, a smirk still transfixed upon his face. Cooler's blow had landed hard, much harder than Trunks had expected, and he was still stunned from the punch. Recollecting himself from his bent posture, he squinted sideways at Cooler's malicious grin. Angry, the Saiyan gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and swung hard at Cooler. Unfortunately, Cooler's movements had become incredibly fast, almost as though he knew when and where Trunks would take a swing. After a host of swings from his sword, Trunks found that Cooler was still having no trouble dodging his blade, even at such short range!

_"What the hell happened?!"_ Trunks thought to himself. _"One second he was on the ground in two pieces and now I can't even hit him!!"_

Angrily, Trunks pushed his power level to even higher stakes, trying desperately to gain the upper hand. Seeing this, Cooler suddenly began disappearing and reappearing at lightning speeds to dodge Trunks' sword.

_"He moves so fast!"_ Trunks continued to think to himself. _"No matter how fast I throw this damn thing around, he keeps managing to dodge it! And some of his movements are insane! If I don't start getting somewhere fast, this guy's gonna take me apart as soon as I get tired!"_

As Trunks swung his blade around wildly, Cooler made a final attempt to dodge and reappeared behind him. The Saiyan's connection to the Z Sword had become so intense that he didn't even think about it; Trunks immediately followed through with his last swing to include a hard swing around behind him, his sword stopping hard against Cooler's forearm with a loud clang. Both adversaries looked at one another with a look of surprise.

Cooler's only thought wandered to how the Saiyan could have anticipated that he would instant transmit behind him. Meanwhile, Trunks' first thought rocketed through his mind.

_"How could he stop my sword?!"_ Trunks asked himself worriedly. _"The blade incinerates anything with an evil heart! How's this bastard still standing?!"_

Immediately following the question, it dawned on him, Cooler had no heart! He gritted his teeth, pulled the blade from against Cooler's forearm and spun around to take a swing from the opposite side. Unfortunately, the swing was doomed to miss; Cooler had already instant transmitted twenty feet away before Trunks had even spun back around to swing. After missing his swing, Trunks brought his sword back to a defensive stance. However, Cooler shed his fighting stance and floated calmly in the air.

Cooler sneered lightly. "Humor me, Saiyan," he said grimly. "I'm curious to know how you manage to anticipate my movements. No average fighter would be able to manage such a deed against my technique. Tell me, what's your secret?"

"Call it a sixth sense," Trunks answered, dropping his guard to catch his breath.

Cooler's grin faded. "Fair enough," he remarked. "Still, you won't be able to outmaneuver me. Goku's instant transmission technique is truly remarkable."

That confirmed it. Trunks was afraid that was it. He needed a plan fast. In the back of his mind he hoped that Dende and Avien were making progress. Using his heightened sense, he located their life energies in an instant.

_"Good,"_ he thought. _"They're inside."_

He had to keep Cooler busy, but he also had to figure out a way to beat the thing!

"I admire your determination, Saiyan," Cooler said, interrupting his train of thought. "But we both know that you don't possess enough power to beat me this time. My body has been reconstructed to be impervious to your attacks. It is over."

"I'm still standing," Trunks pointed out, procrastinating.

"Yes," the cyborg acknowledged. "I suppose that is the only loose end to tie up then, isn't it?"

Trunks brought his sword up to an offensive position. He hoped that he could buy Dende and Avien enough time. He readied himself.

Cooler tensed, and then transmitted instantaneously to Trunks' left. Doing his best to follow Cooler's movements, Trunks focused with all his will. Heightened by the power of the Z Sword, he could just manage to anticipate Cooler's opening attack. Cooler lashed out his foot at the Saiyan, but Trunks moved just in time and attempted to swing his sword downward and cut off the cyborg's leg. Surprised but not off guard, Cooler managed to instant transmit just before Trunks' blade passed through his leg. Thinking he had the upper hand, Cooler reappeared behind Trunks, but found himself dodging another swing of Trunks' sword.

Realizing the problem, Cooler instant transmitted around Trunks sporadically, until there was nothing but afterimages and blue swipe marks surrounding Trunks' body. The cyborg managed to throw off Trunks' last attack and immediately kicked the Saiyan's hand, knocking his blade down into the dusty earth below.

"That should make things a bit more interesting," Cooler taunted.

Trunks looked down at his sword with a subtle look of concern. He couldn't let Cooler see that he was worried… The Saiyan powered up more, prepared for the worst.

"You've lost your weapon," the cyborg pointed out. "You've lost the only thing that was keeping you on the field, and yet you still continue to fight? Incredible! You truly are a stubborn breed, Saiyan!"

"Never give up..." Trunks repeated to himself.

He felt at his shoulder pocket for Shell's necklace. His hand became warmer with its glow.

"Never give up!" he shouted, as he pushed his power to its limts.

With his golden aura flaring wildly and the sparks of electricity flickering around his body, Super Saiyan 2 Trunks flew at Cooler with all he had. Much to Cooler's surprise, whatever had suddenly motivated the Saiyan had enabled him to successfully attack and keep up with the metallic creature's instant transmission technique.

_"How?!"_ Cooler asked himself. _"Unless Goku had taught this kid how to use the technique, there was no way he could manage to keep up with it!"_

The pair rocketed across the skies, disappearing, reappearing, swapping blows, blocking each, and then repeating the process. Try as Trunks might, Cooler was just too strong. After ten full minutes of using all of his focus to move after Cooler the way he had teleported from the Kai Planet to Earth the day he fought Buu, Trunks made a mistake and paid for it with a kick to the back knocking him down into the rocky landscape with a quaking explosion of dust and rubble. Satisfied with his success, Cooler smiled and floated slowly down to the ground at the foot of the crater.

Trunks pulled himself very slowly out from under the piles of rocks. His body suit was ripped on his left sleeve, right leg, and his left glove was partially destroyed. He breathed heavily, blowing dust away from his mouth and nostrils as he lay on the ground for a moment.

Cooler let out a haunting laugh from the top of the crater wall.

"Surely you don't want to continue this," he suggested between a laugh. "Death is far less painful."

Trunks looked up at the monster in front of him at the edge of the crater. He couldn't give up. But how could he beat something that didn't get weaker? He wiped the blood from his nose. Struggling, he got to one knee, and then pushed off of it to get to his feet.

"This will hurt," Cooler said, instantly appearing in front of Trunks.

The metal creature punched the Saiyan in the stomach hard. Trunks lurched forward, clutching his gut. Cooler immediately followed with a barrage of combos, ending with a slap to the face with his tail. The impact sent Trunks flying through the wall of the crater, and across the ground. Trunks' shoulder was the first thing to touch the ground, and, with him mid-flight, the inertia caused him to tumble end over end, painfully rolling across the landscape until he came to rest on his back. His hair faded to its natural color and his muscle tone shrunk back to its normal form.

Agonizingly, he spat up blood. His armor strap was broken on the shoulder that had caught the ground causing him to tumble. Numerous cuts across his forehead, shoulder, and arms and legs oozed lightly with blood. He was a mess. As he lay there, his mind was in a frenzy. He knew he had to get to his feet to defend himself, but his body was irresponsive. Suddenly, a heavy foot stomped into his stomach, adding to the pain that had already been caused. As pressure came down from the three-toed foot, Trunks cried out in pain.

"I admire your fortitude," Cooler commended respectfully. "You've put up far more fight than I thought you would."

Intermittently, the cyborg put more pressure down on Trunks, causing him to scream louder. As he pushed a particular time onto the Saiyan's body, the force caused Shell's necklace to fall out of Trunks' shoulder pocket through a hole and onto the ground next to him. Cooler stopped.

"What's this?" he asked lifting it off the ground and into his hand through energy manipulation. He laughed lightly. "I won't ask what a grown man is doing with a necklace with a seashell on it."

"Sh-Shell…" Trunks coughed as he reached hopelessly up for the necklace.

"Of sentimental value, I take it," Cooler deduced. "It's alright, you won't need it."

With that, he clasped his hand over the necklace forcefully, crushing it to dust. He shifted the weight under his fingers for a moment and then released his grip. Trunks watched helplessly as the dust floated off of the cyborg's hand and into the wind. So many thoughts flew through Trunks' mind in an instant, they were impossible to comprehend. Every memory he had of Shell flashed in front of his eyes. Every happy day, up to the moment he held her lifeless body in his arms. The last image that passed through his mind was the beautiful angel he had seen her as in the vision he had months earlier.

When he came back to reality, tears were streaming down his face. He had come so far, was this how it would end? He didn't know what to do anymore. As he lay there, suddenly time began to slow. After a few moments, everything faded to a white light. He couldn't see because it was too bright, but in the light he could hear her voice.

"Hey there, sweetheart," Shell's voice echoed lightly in the brightness.

"Shell…?" Trunks asked, heartbroken. "Is that you?"

"Who else would it be, silly?" she asked with a sweet laugh.

"Am I dead?" Trunks asked with a smile.

"Of course not," she assured him confidently. "That's not what your purpose is, dear. We don't have very long, so as always I have to be brief. Trunks, honey, I need you to be strong. Be strong and believe in yourself. Just a little while longer now and we'll be together, I promise. You have to promise me to just hold out a little longer, ok?"

"…Ok," Trunks choked, fighting more tears.

"It's gonna be hard, harder than anything you've done yet," she continued. "And things are about to come at you really fast, but I just need you to be strong, and trust in me that everything will be fine, ok?"

"I trust you…" he promised, trailing off. "Shell…"

"Yes?" she replied.

"I love you," he told her.

"I know, sweetheart," she said in the softest voice Trunks had ever heard. "I love you, too. And we'll be together soon, just a little longer. Hold on for me, Trunks. I love you…"

Slowly, the white light faded, and Trunks found himself back on the ground on Namek. Cooler's foot was still planted atop his torso, but something was different. He could feel Shell. He could feel the aura she had encased in his necklace, except now it was all around him, enveloping him. He smiled at the thought and feeling.

Unaware of all that had just happened in Trunks' mind, Cooler looked down at the Saiyan with a look of confusion and disdain. Cooler thought that perhaps to face one's destiny caused some Saiyans to suddenly talk craziness to themselves, but he was still confused as to why Trunks would suddenly start a monologue.

"Don't die yet," Cooler told him. "You're already babbling senselessly, but I still want to integrate your power into the Big Ghette Star. Your usefulness is almost complete."

Trunks looked up at the lifeless red eyes of the monster.

"You won't stop me," Trunks coughed.

"What?" Cooler asked, exploding into laughter. "Stop you? That last foot stomp on your tiny body must have damaged your brain!" He continued to laugh maniacally.

Trunks reminded himself of all of his friends. Leon, the Supreme Kai, Avien, Dende; they had all given so selflessly to help him whenever he had needed. Tears filled his eyes. And he had insisted on doing everything alone. Shell's aura had brought a calmness and clearness back to his thinking that had been absent for many months. He couldn't give up. Not on Shell, and not on his friends.

Suddenly he found the energy he needed and harnessed it. He began to shout loudly under the pressure of Cooler's ever-present foot. Cooler stopped his laughter to look down and attempt to crush the Saiyan with more force of his leg. But to no avail. Trunks' power level skyrocketed. Immediately, he regained his Super Saiyan 2 form. As his power surged, the ground he lay on began to mold around him, forming a crater. He shouted angrily, drawing upon all the energy he could muster. Lightning arched around his body and up Cooler's leg. Small rocks and pieces of debris lifted off the ground and into the sky.

Arriving at his pinnacle, Trunks grasped Cooler's ankle with both hands and spun quickly, pulling the cyborg off of his chest and through the ground he had laid on. As he competed the spin, and Cooler emerged from the hole in the ground, Trunks released his metallic enemy, hurtling him into the sky. With Cooler off of him, Trunks turned and located his Z Sword; it was on the ground some hundred feet away. In the blink of an eye, Trunks had teleported from where he was and stood before the Z Sword. He picked it up and wiped the dust from its blade.

"It's time to finish this," he said, completely focused.

He could sense Cooler landing on the ground a fair distance behind him. Calmly, he turned to face the robotic monstrosity.

"I don't know where that little burst of energy came from," Cooler said seriously. "But don't expect it to happen again."

"That won't be necessary," Trunks agreed. "This is it, Cooler. You're going to hell with the rest of your family!"

Trunks held his sword up in a strong, offensive stance.

"You'll regret all of this," the cyborg sneered.

Cooler stood up straight and brought his fists up next to his waist. Focusing his robotic energy cells, he constructed purple energy balls around each fist. Rather than fire them, he straightened his hands into points, and similarly, the energy balls straightened until he had to energy blades, one on each hand.

"Since you have such an affinity for sharp objects," Cooler taunted, "we'll do this the old fashioned way. Prepare to die, Saiyan!"

Cooler dashed forward at Trunks, who seemed very sure of himself, holding his ground. Trunks readied himself as the creature neared him. Cooler disappeared three feet in front of Trunks, just as the Saiyan had anticipated he would. Cooler instant transmitted behind Trunks and swung his right "Sauzer Blade," as he like to call the technique, at the Saiyan's neck. Instantly, Trunks teleported to Cooler's left and surprised attacked him. Cooler instant transmitted out of the way, but just barely. Trunks strained hard to keep his focus and keep up with his enemy. Together, they instant transmitted and teleported around the surrounding terrain sporadically, taking swings at each other with their respective blades whenever opportunity offered, but both gaining no upper hand.

"Hold still… you little–!" Cooler cursed between transmissions.

"Why don't you… try harder?" Trunks replied hauntingly between teleportations.

"When I get my hands on you–!" the metalloid swore.

"Shut up or put up," the Saiyan shouted back.

Insults and swinging blades tossed back and forth between the two powerful combatants across the skies of New Namek.

Eventually, Trunks managed to outmaneuver Cooler just long enough to manage a powerful, overhead swing at the cyborg's forehead. Blocking, Cooler crossed both his Sauzer Blades in front of his face, scissoring Trunks' attack. Blades locked, they both pushed against each other, trying to gain the upper hand. At a stalemate, Cooler was beginning to get desperate. Trunks looked into the angry red eyes of his enemy.

"Your batteries are getting low," Trunks sneered at his enemy.

"Look closer," Cooler said with an evil smile.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and tiny purple beams rocketed out of his pupils into the sky.

"Thanks for the warning," Trunks said as he shoulder smashed into Cooler from behind. "It's a neat trick, being able to dodge attacks at such close range like that. Thanks for showing me how."

Cooler rolled across the sky until he brought himself to an abrupt halt.

"What?!" he gasped. "There's no way you could have learned that attack just from watching me!"

"I know," Trunks laughed. "Just messin' with you!"

Before Cooler was able to reply, Trunks was teleporting behind him. The cyborg tracked him quickly and maneuvered out of the way in the same manner. He summoned back his Sauzer Blades and continued the fencing match with his Saiyan enemy.

"I hate you, Saiyans!" Cooler exclaimed mid-battle.

"That's funny," Trunks replied between swings. "That's exactly what Frieza said…"

"Ugh, DIE!" Cooler screamed as he transmitted backwards, putting enough space between them to fire an immense beam into Trunks, who was still recovering from a swing of his sword.

Trunks' eyes widened as he caught the beam full force. He held onto his sword, but just barely. The beam pushed him away from Cooler until he and the beam crashed violently into a mountainside, detonating. The weight of the blast bore down on him, and Trunks was forced to encase himself in an energy shield.

Unsatisfied, Cooler instant transmitted over the explosion and began tossing additional smaller beams into the large, purple energy bubble of the stacked explosion. After thirty or forty shots, Cooler let his frenzy subside. A massive explosion followed, throwing debris and smoke miles into the air.

As it cleared, Trunks floated up out of the leveled mountain. Pissed, Cooler resumed firing smaller beams at the Saiyan. Trunks dropped his shield and flew slowly towards the monster, deflecting each accurate beam with his sword as he moved.

"Damn, you!" Cooler shouted, seeing his enemy near.

When the Saiyan was within range, Cooler lit up his hands with Sauzer Blades and added another one on his tail. He noted the surprise in his enemy's eyes when he began fighting with his tail as well. Three blades seemed to work as he quickly began to get the upper hand.

_"Damn, this guy's persistent!"_ Trunks thought. He hadn't expected a third energy blade. And it was proving a little too difficult. _"I can't keep this up for long,"_ he told himself.

Cooler kept up the heat until he noticed that Trunks was mostly on the defensive. He smiled to himself in his inherent victory. He tried a quick instant transmission, but Trunks managed to keep up with him. In a last ditch effort to find a weakness, the cyborg amped up the speed of his combos with all three blades and threw in a few instant transmissions. Finally, he knew that he would be able to get the best of this Saiyan.

Trunks defended the best he could, but three blades were just too much. He needed to catch his breath, so he blocked one blade with his sword, the other by grasping Cooler's wrist, and he stopped the creature's tail with his feet. Sprawled in front of each other, they both strained at a stand still in midair.

"You can't keep this up forever, boy," Cooler snarled.

"We'll find out," Trunks said, half trying to convince himself.

He caught his breath and pushed Cooler off, putting space between himself and the killer cyborg. With a safe distance achieved, he dropped out of the sky and landed on the ground. Comparably, Cooler instant transmitted to the ground some thirty feet away. He stood motionless for a moment, but then something caught his attention. He looked over his shoulder at the Big Ghette Star in the distance.

Trunks got a very bad feeling. Cooler seemed somewhat distracted, but their last bout had completely worn Trunks out. He could feel his energy lowering as they stood there. If he were to attack now, he would only have enough energy to support a short burst before he would be out of fuel. Unless Cooler was as near empty as Trunks felt, he knew that he couldn't beat the monster.

"It appears your little friends are quite the sneaky ones," Cooler announced, looking back at Trunks.

Trunks' look tightened. His eyes narrowed.

"Well, your little distraction did manage to work on me," Cooler commended. "I had no idea your friends were planning on invading the Big Ghette Star. A potentially devastating calculation. Except that the Big Ghette Star is definitely not defenseless. That's negligence on your part."

"What are you talking about?" Trunks shouted.

"While your efforts to keep me busy certainly worked," Cooler explained, "your theory that the Star would be left unprotected was far from correct. Your friends are on the run right now, as the entire complex is on high alert. They can't escape, and they'll most surely be destroyed. I'm sure this news is music to your ears."

_"Damn it!"_ Trunks thought.

He knew it was a terrible risk, sending them in alone. But he had no other choice. And now, the only cover that he had was blown. Cooler would most certainly finish him off so that he could return and secure his fortress.

"My sensors indicate that the Namek is as good as caught," Cooler said humorously. "Apparently he surrendered immediately. Not very hero-like of him. And it's only a matter of time before the girl is caught. Your plan has failed, and it's over for you, Saiyan."

Trunks' mouth dropped open at Cooler's harsh words. He had failed. Failed Shell, his friends, everyone. And what was worse that it was the second time. Suddenly the same guilt that had overwhelmed him the day Shell died swept back over him. Only this time, his rage was lost. He returned to his normal form. He spent several moments fighting himself within. The Supreme Kai had warned him that this would happen. He had been too prideful, too arrogant; and as a result, he had lost all hope of reviving Shell. Tears swelled at the corners of his eye sockets.

"What's this?" Cooler asked laughingly. "Is the Saiyan is going to cry?! His plan fails and the brave warrior drops to his knees, crying? How pathetic! Really, if you have another amulet, let me break it so that you can die fighting with some dignity left."

Trunks flinched. One more… he had just enough energy for one more burst. And the bastard was genuinely pissing him off.

"You…" Trunks said angrily with gritted teeth. "You want me to go out fighting? You got it… and I'm taking you with me!!"

He burst into his second Super Saiyan form one last time, using up all the energy he had left. Cooler readied for attack and summoned one powerful, glowing Sauzer Blade onto his right hand. Together, they charged towards each other with as much power as they could generate. In a spectacular standoff finale, they crossed blades in the center, generating a blinding flash of light. Each flew past each other, Cooler dropping his Sauzer Blade from around his hand, and Trunks losing his Super Saiyan 2 form completely. Cooler landed roughly, dropping to one knee and steadying himself with his opposite hand. Trunks hit hard on his chest, skidding and dropping his sword. He landed face down, and blood ran freely from the side of his head and right arm.

In order to swing at the cyborg, he had to sacrifice a free blow to his upper right arm. It bled openly from an ugly cut wound, and Cooler's tail had bashed the side of his face as he passed by. Trunks coughed up blood, and lifted himself as best he could with his uninjured arm to look behind him at Cooler; there's no way he could have missed…

Cooler laughed lightly for a moment, satisfied with his victory. The Saiyan had put up an impressive fight, but in the end there was only one possible outcome. Cooler smiled to himself. But it was time to finish things. He needed to take the Saiyan back to the Star and integrate his power and make it his own. Cooler rose slowly to his feet. As he took his first step, he froze. His scanners indicated a high level flaw.

"What?" he asked himself aloud. "It's not possible!"

Trunks had slashed him diagonally in half, cutting his vital circuitry. In taking a step, Cooler had misbalanced his body. As his body fell in half from the opposite hip to shoulder, his power cells erupted, and Cooler's entire body disappeared in a flash of explosion.

Trunks smiled to himself, exhaustedly, and dropped back to the dirt to rest for a moment. He knew that he needed to get to the Big Ghette Star and help Dende and Avien, but his body was in no condition to comply. After a few moments' rest, he shakily brought himself to his feet. If he could get to his ship, he could bandage his arm and have a better chance of an assault on the Big Ghette Star. He picked up his sword and sheathed it. Even if he managed to make it to the ship, he reasoned that Dende and Avien would be dead long before he had the energy to help them. The fight with Cooler had completely drained him.

"D-damn it," he muttered aloud.

He managed a few steps towards the Big Ghette Star, but was stopped in his tracks. The sound of very small pebbles shuffling down the side of the hill behind him caught his ears. Slowly, he turned around. Cooler stood atop the hillside, glaring down at the Saiyan. The cyborg's body had been completely restored without a scratch, despite everything that Trunks had done to him.

"I told you this would happen," Cooler said, his glare turning to a light smile.

Trunks detected more movement to his right. He looked over to see yet another Cooler standing on a rock. What the hell was going on?!

"You see," the second Cooler continued, "if a flaw is found with my design, the Big Ghette Star instantly analyzes it and perfects it."

"And, well, if a simple power and armor increase doesn't solve the problem…" the first Cooler continued.

Trunks frowned and looked to his left.

"Then we just increase the number of us you have to deal with," a third and final Cooler finished.

Trunks looked around at the three new Coolers. He wasn't looking forward to this.

"Our largest assessment in your last battle was that you had trouble keeping up with three energy blades," the Coolers said in unison.

Then, simultaneously, all three Coolers constructed their Sauzer Blade techniques on both hands.

"Now we'll see how you handle six," they said again in unison.

Trunks clutched at his bleeding arm, ignoring his sword.

"Nothing?" they asked. "Pity."

They dissipated their Sauzer Blades and rushed at the Saiyan.

Trunks was unconscious from blood loss before the first blow landed.


	12. Chapter 12: The Big Ghette Star

Chapter 12: The Big Ghette Star

"Run!" Dende shouted as the alarms sounded.

He and Avien had just found the Dragon Balls deep within the confines of Cooler's fortress moments before. Unfortunately, even before they had picked the things up, something had set the alarms off around the complex.

"What set them off?" Avien screamed as she grabbed one large, orange orb.

"It doesn't really matter at this point!" Dende exclaimed as he picked up the other torso-sized Dragon Ball. "We just need to get out of here now!"

Together, they bolted down the corridor. At the junction, Dende led them left, but they stopped in their tracks by more Cyclopean Guards.

"Oh, shit!" Avien cried. "What now, Dende?"

The Namekian stood silent for a moment, calculating their risks. His eyes moved from each section of the four-way junction. Three robots stood in the way of any path they chose except for the way they had come.

"They're after the Dragon Balls," Dende concluded. "Give me the one you have, and I want you to find your own way out of here. I'll keep them busy."

"No!" Avien argued. "There's so many; they'll kill you! And if that happens then the Dragon Balls are useless!"

"I'll be fine," Dende promised. "Just use this diversion to get out of here. Go!"

"Men!" Avien shouted as she dropped the Dragon Ball and turned to run back down the corridor they had come from.

One of the guards began to chase after her, but the leader used a hand signal to stop him. It would take all of them to bring down Dende. The leader was aware of this.

Dende immediately dropped the Dragon Ball, and fired small, piercing beams out of his eyes into the leader in front of him, and, simultaneously, he fired congruent beams from each of his index fingers to his left and right. Three guards down, six to go. Before they had time to react, he gathered both large Dragon Balls, one in each hand, and kicked his way past the guards in front of him. He charged down the hallway with all six guards following close behind.

* * *

Elsewhere, Avien's first thought was to suppress her power level as far as she possibly could. There was no way that she wanted to draw attention to herself in such a sinister environment. As she darted from hallway to hallway, hiding behind wiring and any large metal cover she could find, she reached a point where she heard heavy, metallic footsteps. Instinctively, she hid behind the largest clump of machinery should find.

Peering out, her mouth dropped open in horror as she saw Cooler carrying Trunks' lifeless, beaten body on his right shoulder.

_"Trunks!" _she cried in her mind. _"Oh, no! What did he do to you out there?"_

Cooler paused in his tracks. In reaction, Avien quickly ducked back behind her cover. Cooler looked over his shoulder at Avien's hiding spot. His red eyes squinted, but then he moved on. With him out of the room, she exhaled deeply. She would have to be more careful. She thought for a moment. She knew Dende had told her to get out, but even though Trunks was a jerk, she couldn't leave him at the mercy of Cooler. She had almost stepped out from behind her cover when she saw two more Coolers step past her across the room and stop.

Extremely startled, she jumped back behind the large machinery, making a minor noise. Frightened that the Coolers would have heard the noise, she covered her mouth. The two Coolers looked back at where the noise had come from and turned around. Avien was petrified; she couldn't have moved if she'd wanted to. Before the twin Coolers could investigate, they were interrupted.

Inside each Cooler's processors, this message was broadcast from the main chamber of the Star:

_"Attention all MetaCoolers, sensors indicate that the Namek and the girl have separated but are still within the hull of the Star. MetaCooler with the prisoner shall report to the main chamber, and the other two shall separate and search for the Namek and girl respectively. Reports indicate that their power levels are far inferior to current models'. They should be apprehended and brought to the main chamber as well. Orders effective immediately, out."_

Immediately, the two Coolers forgot the sound they had detected completely and turned and moved briskly down the opposite corridor the first Cooler had moved down.

When she was sure they were gone, Avien cursed herself aloud for her carelessness and moved silently down the corridor after Cooler and Trunks.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dende had problems of his own. After reaching a dead end, he dropped the Dragon Balls and turned and fired an energy beam into the following guards. The guards scattered, the large, purple explosion detonating behind them. When the first two robots reached him, he put his fist into the small, blue orb in the center of one's head. Once in, he launched a quick energy attack, exploding the head of the robot.

With one down, he turned to the other one. The robot punched, but Dende dodged its blow and caught the robot's arm. He swung it around himself and threw it, releasing the robot into one of its brethren that flew in for an attack. Together, the two robots crashed into the ceiling, crumpling their metal bodies. The last three landed directly in front of him. They paused for a moment, likely calculating their best opening attacks, Dende figured.

Dende didn't have time to wait on them. He extended his arms far out, grabbing hold of the robots on the left and right of the middle one. Instantly, he retracted his arm length, pulling himself forward at blazing speeds. When he reached the robots, he launched his lower body forward, kicking the middle robot hard in the face. As it flew backwards, he let go of the robots on either side of him and landed in between them. They both swung their inner arms at him, but he ducked and uppercutted each hard under their arms. As their metallic arms dislocated with a loud clank, Dende grabbed each of their arms and pulled hard, ripping their arms off. With the robots "disarmed," the Namekian quickly fired beams from each hand into the robots, destroying them.

Hearing the robot he had kicked away flyng up behind him, Dende charged a powerful energy attack, and turned just as the robot reached him, firing his beam at point blank range. He had charged the attack so much that it instantly incinerated the robot and continued down the long corridor and through several rooms within the Big Ghette Star. Once the beam had penetrated as far as it could, it exploded most conveniently in an auxiliary power cell room. Unknowingly, Dende had just destroyed the Star's backup and emergency power, and effectively weakened Cooler's hold on the planet New Namek.

He searched the Star for Avien's power level, but felt nothing. He was sure she must have escaped by now, and he knew she'd return to Trunks' ship. After he gathered the other Dragon Balls he would find her there. He turned, blasted a hole in the hull of the Star, gathered the two Dragon Balls and flew out the hole towards his hidden cave.

Once he was nothing but a distant object in the sky, Cooler peered out the hole the Namekian had made in the wall of the Big Ghette Star. The monster looked back at the short work the Namek had made of his Cyclopean Guards and the Star. His face was serious and dark, and he looked back out into the sky at the Namek as he flew off. He floated through the breach in the hull slowly, assessing the damage, and once he was outside, Cooler shot off after the green adversary.


	13. Chapter 13: Bringing Down The House

Chapter 13: Bringing Down The House

Dende flew as fast as he could back to his hidden cave. While in the air, he searched the areas he flew over for any sign of Trunks' life force.

"That's strange," he said to himself. "I don't sense him anywhere."

This wasn't good. If Trunks' power level was gone, then… Dende feared the worst. However, this wasn't the time to go looking for Trunks. He needed to get the Dragon Balls to Trunks' ship and find Avien. Then they could figure out what had happened to their friend. He would have to work fast. Lighting up his purple aura, Dende pushed hard to fly as fast as he could.

Within ten minutes he was on the ground. He stood before a beautiful waterfall that fell into a river and wound across the lush countryside. Habitually, he checked to make sure he didn't see anyone following him, and then he flew through the waterfall into his cave. At the end of the tunnel, he set the two Dragon Balls he had retrieved next to the other five. Dende smiled to himself with a look of accomplishment and satisfaction.

"There," he said to himself. "They should be safe here while I search for Trunks' ship. It can't be far from here."

He turned around and stopped instantly in his tracks. He stood in shock, mouth open and beads of sweat already forming on his green brow.

"So this is where you've been hiding all this time," Cooler said lightly. "I must commend you, Namek. To think that you could have stayed hidden so long in such a place, it's most impressive. But I'm saddened to inform you that this is the end of the road."

Collecting himself as best he could, Dende's mind raced. He couldn't let Cooler take the Dragon Balls! Where was Trunks? If Cooler was still alive, could it be that Trunks was…? Dende shook it off.

"I won't let you take the Dragon Balls," Dende swore.

He powered up drastically, knowing that he would need all of his strength to fight such a monster. The tunnel began to glow a purple color in response to Dende's growing aura. Once ready, Dende sprung forward flying towards Cooler. He connected with a brutal kick to the side of Cooler's face, but the cyborg didn't even blink! Visibly surprised, Dende retracted his foot and punched Cooler in the chest. Dende hoped that it hurt Cooler more than it did his hand, but it didn't show if it did.

Desperate, Dende released a volley of punches, kicks, and strikes of all possible speeds and strengths, but nothing seem to make Cooler even flinch. After about thirty hits, Cooler's patience failed, and the metal creature struck Dende hard with his tail, sending the Namekian flying to the side into a large rock formation.

The Namekian slowly pulled himself out of the rocky ruins and looked up. Cooler stood just in front of him, the cyborg's red eyes glared down at him.

"This is going to hurt," Cooler said.

* * *

Avien continued to follow as best she could after the Cooler that had taken Trunks into the greater depths of the Big Ghette Star. She advanced stealthily from room to room, bearing in mind all the sensors around that could easily alert the now three Coolers and countless robotic guards to her presence. She continued quietly until she found the main chamber that Cooler had brought the unconscious Trunks to.

She took cover behind large silver power control mechanisms. From the shadows, she looked on at the spectacle before her. Cooler had taken Trunks to a vast, open room. It was mostly empty, except for numerous control panels along the outside of the room like the one Avien hid behind. In the center of the room, there was a single platform with many sets of wires hanging from the ceiling. To her horror, she saw Trunks entangled in wires and unconscious still. The other mass of wiring and metal housed the majority of yet another Cooler. However, this one was an incomplete body. Her eyes widened with disgust as she noticed that parts of this Cooler were not metal… they were flesh. It was as if the wiring and metal were _rebuilding_ him…

"Rise and shine, Saiyan," Cooler's deep voice echoed throughout the chamber.

Trunks twitched slightly, and then moaned. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked painfully at the heap of wiring in front of him. Cooler's evil, red eyes stared back, one cybernetic, one organic.

"What happened to you?" Trunks asked weakly.

"I distinctly remember explaining that already," Cooler replied grimly. "Clearly all of the beatings you took from my robotic clones must have damaged your primitive monkey brain."

"Go to hell," the Saiyan retorted, barely awake.

Cooler laughed lightly. "Oh, I've already been there," he replied coolly. "Don't worry, though, you'll soon be there yourself. So you won't miss anything."

Trunks wasn't sure he could sustain consciousness much longer. He felt drained, like all the energy in his body was leaving him. "What… what are you doing to me?" he asked.

"Oh," the cybernetic monstrosity answered, "nothing you should concern yourself with. In a very short time now, the Big Ghette Star will have consumed and absorbed every ounce of Super Saiyan energy within you. That power will be integrated into the Star, thereby making myself along with the Star even more powerful. After I absorb the power within that girl and Namek that were with you, I will have all the energy I need to completely rebuild my organic body with its new cybernetic enhancements. With the Big Ghette Star as my starship, I will regain my father's legacy and be the ultimate power in the universe."

Trunks smiled painfully.

"Something humorous?" Cooler inquired, losing his happiness.

"It's just funny hearing you sound just like your brother," Trunks explained. "It must run in the family. The same old dream, Cooler. From the same old psychos. You must really hate yourself… For as much as you hate Frieza, you're just like him."

"Silence!" Cooler shouted.

The wires draining Trunks' energy lit up with Cooler's anger, causing more pain than what Trunks was already experiencing. Trunks winced and gritted his teeth from the stinging sensations running through his body.

"You could remain silent and be granted a less painful death, Saiyan," the cyborg sneered. "Yet, your kind always seems to choose to continue to run their arrogant little mouths until they all die the most painful of deaths!"

As the torture level increased, so did Trunks' reaction. He went from twitching grunts and groans to painful screams and gut-wrenching cries. Cooler continued to torment Trunks' defenseless body for several minutes.

Avien became so sick to her stomach from the sight of it all that she had to look away. She covered her mouth as tears ran down her face from the pain of watching. She had to do something. But what could she do? She wasn't strong enough to fight Cooler alone. Maybe if she could find some way to short out Cooler's hold on Trunks, he might be able to fight off Cooler's restraints. She looked around. But where the hell would she even begin to look for that? She had no idea what the layout of the Star looked like. And even if she did, there were the roaming Cooler clones to consider.

She took a deep breath. Behind her, she heard Trunks cease screaming. She slowly peered back over the side of her hiding spot. The glow around Trunks' wire bounds had subsided, and he had lost consciousness again. If she didn't do something fast, she knew that she would end up watching him die. She did her best to calm herself down and focus. She looked around the room again, studying the layout and structure. For all the wiring in the room, she figured there must be a circuit system somewhere nearby that she could disable without drawing much attention.

Avien gathered her will and courage and moved quietly out of the room to search the nearby areas for anything she could do to disrupt the energy flow throughout the Star. However, her movements did not go unnoticed…

* * *

Dende found himself fighting a long, losing battle. No matter what he threw at Cooler, the metal monster was completely unharmed by it. Melee attacks ended in disaster with him usually eating dirt, and energy attacks were completely useless.

"Damn it," Dende said as he got up after getting slammed into the cave wall.

"Is that really necessary?" Cooler mocked. "After all, it's not like we're seriously fighting. Oh, I'm sorry; you really are…" He chuckled lightly to himself.

"Chew on this," Dende snarled as he jumped up and fired an energy attack straight into Cooler's face.

The beam was so immense that it completely consumed Cooler and burst through the waterfall entrance and out somewhere on the planet before detonating. As all the dust that had been disturbed by the blast settled, Cooler was nowhere to be seen.

"What the–?" Dende asked in awe.

"You missed," Cooler whispered in Dende's ear, from behind him.

Before Dende even thought about turning around, a powerful blow impacted the middle of his back and he was sent flying along the same path that he had sent his beam. He landed in a crater of destroyed rocks outside his cave. As he lay on the uneven ground, he wiped the purple blood that oozed from the corner of his mouth.

He looked back from the direction he had been thrown, and Cooler instantly appeared several feet from where he lay. As his mind rushed, Dende had only one thought in mind. Where was Trunks?

* * *

In the central chamber of the Big Ghette Star, Trunks found himself drifting in and out of consciousness. In his fleeting moments of being awake, he was aware of Cooler's presence, but felt little else; his body was becoming numb. However, in his long moments of unconsciousness, his mind was everywhere but New Namek. He wasn't sure if he was dead or not, but he didn't feel like he was always still in his body.

He saw Earth. It was in ruins. Buildings demolished, homes empty… it was a graveyard. He saw Leon and the Supreme Kai. But they were alone on an empty planet; fighting for their lives. And against what it was they fought, he couldn't see, but they weren't winning. Suddenly their fight faded away, and he saw Dende and Avien in a similar situation. They needed his help. Almost as fast as they had appeared, they too disappeared. Suddenly he found himself back in the Kai Temple. Gohan stood before him, explaining something with prominence, but he couldn't hear the words. Lastly, he saw Cooler and the processor that had built the Big Ghette Star. He watched as the organic mush of Cooler's brain spawned around the chip, forming a cocoon. Then, almost in the blink of an eye, he was gone and found himself on a familiar seashore with white sands.

"You again?" he heard a soft voice say.

He looked around, but couldn't see her.

"Shell, I can't see you," he said almost in a whisper.

"I know," Shell's voice replied from across the empty white sands. "Your life force is almost gone, sweetheart."

"I saw our friends," he told her. "They were in trouble…"

"Yes," she agreed. "Yes, I know…"

"What does it mean?" he asked confused.

"How should I know, silly?" she asked playfully. "It's your vision!"

"I know, but…" Trunks replied conflictingly, "You usually know what I'm thinking. And sometimes I think that you're the one showing me all this, not me doing it."

Shell laughed angelically. "You might be on to something there, Sherlock," she agreed.

"I miss you," Trunks said, almost tearfully. "You're always so happy and lighthearted. With you gone, there's been no one around like that. The world isn't the same without you, Shell. It's darker… Much darker without your light. And it's almost as though that darkness has changed all of us. And the world."

"In all that darkness, one thing about you hasn't changed, Trunks," she enlightened. "You're still so sweet. Maybe you just don't see it, but I do… But we need to hurry. So many depend on you right now."

"It always seems that's the way our meetings go," Trunks sighed. "One day are we gonna be past all the hurrying?"

"What does your heart tell you?" she asked.

He paused to reflect on her comment.

"Shell, I'm going to bring you back," he said confidently. "And I'm very close. I promise you, Shell."

"That's the Trunks I know," Shell replied with warmth that Trunks could feel. "Take him down, sweetheart."

Trunks snapped awake. He was back in the central chamber of the Big Ghette Star. Cooler was still immobile within his harness of metal. Trunks didn't have much power left at all, but he was determined to bring down Cooler and get the Dragon Balls, whatever that meant.

"I see you're not as dead yet as I had thought," Cooler congratulated.

"Not yet, Cooler," Trunks shouted. "And as long as I have anything to say about it, my death won't come from you!"

"Well, that's easy enough to solve," the cyborg replied grimly.

Immediately, the wires holding Trunks lit up brightly, causing an intense amount of pain on Trunks' end. He screamed in response, but as the pain and his own focus fueled his rage, his screams of pain gradually became screams of power.

"What?" Cooler questioned, shocked at the Saiyan's unfathomable power. "It's impossible!"

Trunks increased his power dramatically, first becoming a Super Saiyan, and then pushing until he achieved Super Saiyan 2. As his screams intensified, the room began to glow a bright golden color.

"Foolish bastard!" Cooler shouted. "It doesn't matter how much energy you expend, I'll absorb it all!"

Unconvinced, Trunks was determined to gather enough strength to break through his bounds.

* * *

"Ahhh!" Avien screamed as she backed away from the Cooler clone that had snuck up and surprised her. She thought that she covered her trail well, but apparently she had been dead wrong. Her journey had taken her to a central power hub, though she wasn't really sure what the room's purpose was. She tried running from Cooler, but everywhere she darted to, he would instantly appear in front of her, blocking her path of escape. It was useless!

She backed away from him slowly, gathering energy for a quick attack to aid in her escape. Once complete, she fired her attack at point blank range destroying a large power module behind where Cooler had been standing.

"You missed," Cooler's voice taunted from behind her.

Instinctively, she turned quickly and saw that she had missed him completely. Somehow he had managed to teleport out of the way. That was the only way someone could escape an attack like that at such close range. Then suddenly, it dawned on her. That was how she could use him. She scanned the room quickly and noticed a large glowing terminal on the opposite side of the room. Across the room from that was a large structure that resembled some type of coupling or conduit. She had no idea if her plan would work, but it seemed to her that something was definitely better than nothing right now.

She turned and darted across the room towards the glowing terminal. Just as she had anticipated, Cooler materialized in her way. When she was right up on him, she fired a quick energy beam at him. Routinely, he teleported out of the way, and her blast connected full force with the terminal. The chamber shook violently at the explosion, and some of the lighting dimmed momentarily. It seemed like it was a good plan so far.

But as she turned to run across the room to the conduit, Cooler was standing in her path. If she fired at her current distance, she might not get a direct hit. Furthermore, Cooler might figure out her plan and stop dodging. Not willing to risk the secrecy of her plan, she flew forward and kicked Cooler in the side of the head. To her shock, he didn't flinch, but rather, chopped his hand across her lower leg, breaking it instantly.

Avien immediately dropped from the side of Cooler's head and slammed into the ground, holding her broken leg. She screamed in pain, echoing down the adjacent corridors.

"Now that wasn't very nice," Cooler teased. "First you destroy my power terminal, then you kick me in the face. You heinous bitch, you probably don't even realize that your little efforts to blast me just damaged my ship. I should kill you, but that wouldn't be very efficient of me. Rather, I'll let you assume the same fate as your Saiyan friend in there, and your energy will be used to repair the damage you've done here. Since I've broken your leg, you shouldn't be nearly as hard to catch now."

Her leg hurt unimaginably. But she was even more angry than hurt. Determined to make the metal clone pay for what he had done, she floated up off the ground in front of him.

"What now?" Cooler sneered arrogantly.

Avien charged up her attack until her hands glowed red. She didn't know how she would escape the room alive, but she knew the explosion would probably take out not just the conduit, but the surrounding four to six rooms. Hopefully she would hit something important. With all her energy gathered into the orb she held in her hands, she focused all of it into her right hand and thrust it forward while holding onto her wrist with her left hand.

"Kiri Bomb!" she screamed intensely as she fired off her attack.

"NO!" Cooler screamed as the attack rocketed towards him.

He couldn't dodge the attack or the explosion would wipe out the main power supply to the Star. He threw out his open palms in an attempt to stop Avien's massive, red energy ball. Unfortunately, not knowing her technique, as Cooler's hands halted the movement of her attack, the ball exploded into several smaller beams that separated behind him. As the beams hit the conduit behind Cooler, they stacked until they accumulated enough force to cause an explosion.

As Avien's blast connected with the conduit, a massive explosion rocked the entire complex. Every inch of the room, and adjacent rooms, where Avien and Cooler had fought in were detonating in sequence from power terminal to terminal. Avien used the last of her energy to bring up an energy shield to protect her from the explosion, but the room caved in around her. To her amusement, she watched as the MetaCooler gritted his teeth and teleported out of the collapsing room. She didn't expect to survive, but maybe somehow she had helped Trunks escape his grim fate. Her shield vanished as she passed out and fell upon a pile of scrap metal.

* * *

Miles away, Cooler stopped dead in his tracks. Ignoring Dende, he looked back at the smoke rising from the breach in the outer wall of the Big Ghette Star.

"You will pay for this!" he cursed the Namek; his usual coolness leaving him. "All of you will pay for this!"

He turned his attention back towards the Namek and outstretched his hand to deliver a powerful energy attack at the defenseless Dende.

Dende closed his eyes, and readied himself.

* * *

In the central chamber, Cyborg Cooler's collectiveness was fleeting as quickly as the ship's power supply.

"What is happening?" he cried. "There's no way a Saiyan could still have this much energy! Why can't I suppress his energy output?"

Trunks continued to scream, feeling more and more play in the bounds holding him. He could almost break free.

"Auxiliary power!" Cooler shouted. "Why is it down as well? This can't be happening!"

Trunks felt the wiring give, and he exploded out of them, blowing pieces of metal across the room. Shrapnel stabbed into the walls because of the force at which he escaped.

"I'll do it myself," Cooler snarled.

Once down, Trunks drew his sword and stood angrily before Cooler's half-built body.

"This is where it ends for you, Cooler," Super Saiyan 2 Trunks told him. "This is where I bring you down."

Cooler screamed deeply, drawing in all the power from the Big Ghette Star around him. In doing so, his body began repairing itself rapidly. As a distraction, the two MetaCoolers still onboard instant transmitted into the chamber and attacked Trunks.

Unfortunately for the MetaCoolers, Cyborg Cooler had drained so much energy from the Star that their fighting power was minimal next to that of a Super Saiyan 2. They attacked, but with a few swipes of his sword, Trunks had reduced them both to spare parts.

"You'll have to destroy the Star's processor to destroy me! And if this Star collapses," Cyborg Cooler told Trunks, "we all go with it. You, me, the girl, that rotten Namek, and this entire planet!"

"_When_ this Star collapses," Trunks corrected. "You will already be dead."

His healing process as complete as possible, Cyborg Cooler stepped out of his cocoon of wiring and walked towards Trunks on the platform.

"It gives me great pleasure knowing that I will end the life of the last Saiyan," Cooler boasted.

"This won't make much sense, Cooler," Trunks said with a smile. "But just so you can spend an eternity in hell wondering what I meant, just know that in another world and another time, it wasn't Goku that killed your father and brother. It was me."

Distracted by his comment, Cooler stopped his advance. Taking advantage of the opportunity, and knowing he didn't have much time to fight, Trunks fired a small energy ball around Cooler, severing the wiring that still attached his back to his energy harness. With the flow of power cut off, he flew forward and sliced horizontally into Cooler's neck, just as he did the first time he fought him. Trunks followed through with the swing and spun around stopping with his left hand outstretched at Cooler's head. He knew beyond any doubt that the Star's processor had chosen Cooler's brain as its new vessel. That was the only reason his organic body would have been spared for so long.

"I figured out where the chip that reconstructed you and this Star is housed," he said to Cooler's head as it floated through the air apart from its shoulders, "So allow me to make you _at one_ with your precious Star."

"NO!" Cooler's head screamed.

He ended Cooler's reign of terror and possibly the most advanced technology the universe had ever seen with a single energy attack. With the entire Star falling in on itself, Trunks could sense that Avien was still inside and nearby, but her life force was low; he had to hurry.

* * *

With closed eyes, Dende heard the sound of the explosion marking his death. He relaxed waiting for his spirit to fade from his body, but it didn't. Curious, he opened his eyes to find he wasn't dead. The metal form of Cooler had miraculously exploded where it had stood. Wondering what had happened, Dende searched for life forces in the area, but found none nearby.

However, he searched for Trunks and Avien across Cooler's fortress. He could feel Avien's life force was very vague, she would require healing. But Trunks not only was stable, he had felt a change come over the young Saiyan's heart. Dende smiled to himself. He got to his feet and flew back to his cave. He would need to hurry and get the Dragon Balls to the ship. Trunks and Avien would be there soon.

* * *

Avien felt the explosions rocking across the Big Ghette Star. She knew that she had done it. She had managed to destroy something important enough to cause it to fall apart.

"Good job, Avien," she told herself sarcastically. "You've managed to bring down the entire house, but with you in it. What did we learn today? Escape plans."

"Talk to yourself often?" Trunks asked.

She looked across the room at the Saiyan.

"I'll make you a deal, Trunks," she said smiling. "If you'll get me out of this one, I won't even think of a comeback for that."

"I'm sorry," Trunks said as he picked her up as well as he could without hurting her.

"It's alright, you didn't break it," she said, misunderstanding.

"No," he corrected. "I'm sorry for what I said before. I was wrong. You and Dende both did really well. If you hadn't have done what you did, I would have died today."

Avien silently gazed into his blue eyes.

"Don't mention it," she whispered with a smile and change of heart. Her admiration for him was coming back. "I don't want to sound ungrateful, but could we get out of here before we die?"

Trunks smiled. She would never change. Using the teleport ability he had all but perfected against Cooler, Trunks and Avien vanished from the room, leaving it to collapse on nothing but the evil Cooler had created there.

* * *

With the last Dragon Ball sitting outside the ship, Dende hoped that Trunks and Avien would return before the entire planet went under. He wished that his planet could be spared, but he could foresee that from the day that Cooler's fortress had attached to his peaceful planet, its days were drawing to a close. With his time to wait, he whispered his final goodbyes to the spirits of his beloved planet.

After a few short moments, Trunks and Avien appeared next to the ship.

"We must hurry," Dende announced as they appeared. "Or the explosion will claim us all."

"I know," Trunks agreed, carefully handing Avien over to Dende. "You have them all?"

Dende paused and looked back at the Dragon Balls almost with contempt.

"Yes," he informed him. "All seven."

Trunks unlocked the ship via remote control, and loaded the Dragon Balls while Dende took Avien aboard. With the last ball loaded, Trunks closed the hull, and headed upstairs.

"We don't have enough time," Avien shouted from her bed as Trunks passed. "The Star's coming down, Trunks! We'll be caught in the explosion before we can clear atmo!"

"I know!" he shouted back, going to the cockpit.

He knew they couldn't take off and have a prayer of escaping. The ship rocked violently in the turbulence outside. The skies darkened, the winds picked up. It was as if the very planet itself knew that its time had come. As he looked out across the planet from the cockpit glass, he felt saddened by it. It was a beautiful planet, much like Earth. And like Earth, it had been ravaged by evil to the point it was falling apart. Earth was fortunate that it hadn't reached that point yet.

Snapping back to the problem at hand, he hoped that he would be able to complete a teleport of the entire ship. It was risky; he wasn't sure he could do it. No map or chart of deep space mapped a location of the Kai Planet. The only way he knew where it was, was because the Supreme Kai had taken him there. He had managed to get back there once, but it had taken a great deal of effort. He prayed that his fight with Cooler would have helped his ability to control his teleport technique.

"Shell, I'm still holding on," he said out loud.

Concentrating heavily, he attempted to do the only thing he could to save his friends and himself.

_"I love you, Shell,"_ he thought to himself. _"Just needed to tell you that in case I don't make it…"_

_"Have faith…"_ She resounded in his mind. _"…and never give up."_

* * *

In a fiery blast, the Big Ghette Star detonated across the galaxy, taking planet New Namek with it. Nothing within thousands of miles of New Namek's atmosphere would have survived the blast. Millions of miles away, other planets not only witnessed the massive explosion in the sky, but were victims of meteor showers from the fragments of planet pieces for days.


	14. Chapter 14: The Final Choice

Chapter 14: The Final Choice

Trunks opened his eyes slowly. There was a bright light flowing through the cockpit glass, blinding him from the terrible contrast from the storm clouds of New Namek. At first he thought it was the explosion, but then he noticed that the turbulence had stopped, inside and outside the ship. He heard birds singing cheerfully outside the ship. His next thoughts flowed to death. They must be dead, consumed by the massive explosion that enveloped the galaxy around where New Namek used to be. But as his eyes adjusted, his sense of failure subsided.

Outside, it was a beautiful day on the Kai planet. The sun was shining very brightly, and a gentle breeze blew across the plains causing grass and leaves of trees to dance playfully in its wake. Less than a hundred feet away, he could see the sunlight glistening off the steeple of the Kai Temple. Trunks felt a massive relief roll over him. They had made it. He sat for a moment, silently taking in the beautiful nature scene outside his cockpit glass and basking in its sunlight and his success. Once satisfied, he rose from his chair and went below to tell Dende and Avien the great news.

He found them both in the sleeping quarters, Dende once again healing Avien's wounds. As he approached, the Namekian ceased his process, and Avien slowly got to her feet.

"Thank you so much, Dende!" Avien cried as she hugged him happily.

Dende laughed softly as he patted his hand against her back and replied, "As always, you're most welcome."

"Are you two alright?" Trunks asked.

They both turned to look at the Saiyan, who was still a mess from his brawl with Cooler, but was smiling. They both knew that it was the first time he had smiled like that in a long time.

"Better than ever!" Avien announced, showing off her unbroken leg.

"We made it?" Dende asked, following Avien's reply.

Trunks' smile didn't waver, and he nodded affirmatively.

"We made it," he confirmed.

Avien immediately shouted a victorious 'woo-hoo.'

Together, they went to the cargo area and began unloading the Dragon Balls off the ship. After a few minutes, they had all of them unloaded and gathered together next to the ship.

"Finally," Avien sighed. "It sure took long enough, huh, Trunks?"

"Yeah," he answered softly. "Yeah, it did."

She moved closer to him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"It's time to set things right," she said, almost in a whisper.

Her admiration had fully blossomed again for the half-Saiyan, and she stood proudly next to him with a broad smile fixed across her face.

Trunks agreed. It was time to set things right. For a second he thought of all the time he and Shell had lost. All the time that should have been theirs. He smiled knowing that in a few more moments everything would be back to normal.

"Dende," he instructed, "please summon the Dragon."

Dende took a deep breath to begin summoning the Eternal Dragon, but he was stopped halfway through his first word in the process.

"Wait," an angelic voice commanded.

The three froze and slowly looked up from the seven orange orbs on the ground in front of them. A beautiful young girl with medium length, dark hair and wearing a long, shining white dress walked towards them. As she came closer, the area lit up around them with her radiance. The white of her dress almost seemed to emit its own light, and her bright blue eyes only reflected more light towards them.

"What the h–?" Avien began.

"Shell," Trunks cut her off.

Completely forgetting that anyone was with him, Trunks walked past the Dragon Balls towards the girl he loved. Captivated by the situation, he couldn't manage another single word.

Avien looked towards Dende for an answer, but he too, stood transfixed at the spectacle. Looking back towards Trunks and the girl, her stomach began to knot slightly.

"Shell?" Trunks asked, tears accumulating at the corners of his eyes.

"You always ask that as though you're not sure," she replied with a bright smile.

"But, this isn't a dream…?" he asked, unsure.

She laughed softly. "Not this time, sweetheart," she answered. "I talked to the Supreme Kai. If Gohan got to talk to you last time you were here, I bothered him about how unfair it was that I only got to talk to you in visions until he agreed to let me do this. So I guess we owe the Supreme Kai one, now."

"Right," Trunks nodded, not caring.

He stared into her eyes for only an instant, but also an eternity. She lifted her hand up to his cheek and touched him gently. Reflexively, he set his hands on either side of her waist and pulled her towards him as he lowered his face to hers and kissed her softly. She, in turn, wrapped one arm around the back of his neck and placed her opposite hand on the back of his head. Their combined warmth and love flowed through the very fiber of each other's being. As they held one another and kissed, they could feel their own and each other's hearts burn in their chests. It was the most complete either of them had felt in their lives.

Dende lowered his head respectably, but Avien watched painfully, tears swelling in the corners of her eyes. Suddenly it all made sense. Every awkward moment, every fight, every word she and Trunks had shared now made sense. A part of her had expected this to happen, but another part of her didn't want to believe it. She understood what Trunks had meant when he had told her about his past. It wasn't so much that his planet was massacred, as it was that he had lost the one he loved. She wished that he had have been more clear. She had felt herself getting closer to Trunks with every day they traveled, and now she found herself much more than disappointed, and a little less than devastated. Heartbroken, she finally turned away, crying.

Finishing their kiss, Trunks and Shell still held each other, captivated by each other's gaze. A moment later, Trunks closed his eyes and hugged her lovingly. She hugged back, resting her head against his chest.

"I've missed you," she whispered to him.

"I missed you, too," he replied. "But I managed to get the Dragon Balls! And now I can wish you back!"

They released each other from their hug, and she smiled up at him, but tearfully.

"…What?" he asked, knowing something else was in the way.

"There's something else," she answered. "It's how I was granted the opportunity to see you here."

"I can't bring you back," he said seriously, sensing her reasoning. "That was the deal, wasn't it?"

"You can," she answered, wiping tears from her eyes. "But if you do, I'll die again, and you with me."

"I don't understand," he said, confused.

"I know, honey," Shell nodded. "You remember how I told you that you would have to be strong, and that things would be coming at you fast? Well this is what I meant. Within two days, the Earth will be invaded by Saiyans."

"But I'm the last!" he interjected.

"No," she insisted. "You're not. The Supreme Kai is already there. He's helping Leon prepare for the battle. I'm afraid that most of the planet may be lost in the war. The Supreme Kai let me see you here today because he knew that if anyone could influence you to make a difficult choice it would be me."

Trunks hesitated for a moment. "…What choice?"

"Me or help," she said bluntly. "He knew that you would retrieve the Dragon Balls no matter what the cost. But he knew that he couldn't convince you not to bring me back."

"So he sent you to do it for him," Trunks said, frowning.

"No, Trunks," Shell protested. "He let me come here because if someone had to tell you that, I wanted it to be me. I hope you can respect that."

He looked into her eyes again. "I trust you," he said confidently. "What can you tell me about this Saiyan invasion force?"

"Not much," she answered. "You can ask the Supreme Kai when you return to Earth."

"If I don't bring you back, then who am I supposed to?" he asked quietly.

"You know who," she answered.

Suddenly he had an idea.

"No, wait!" he exclaimed. "I can revive Piccolo!"

"Trunks," Shell said, trying to interject.

"No," he continued to explain. "I could revive Piccolo, and that would give us another set of Dragon Balls! That way, I would have another fighter strong enough to help me defend the Earth, and I would still be able to bring you back!"

Shell shook her head. "Sweetie, I'll save you some time. The Dragon Balls behind you won't be able to change anything that happened over ten years ago. That's their limitation. I knew you'd want to do it that way, but you don't have much time to waste right now."

"Guess you've already got everything figured out?" Trunks asked sadly.

"When this is over, we'll be together," she said comfortingly. "I know it this time."

"How?" Trunks asked, unconvinced. "How do you know that something else won't come up that keeps us apart?"

"There will be others," she explained. "There will always be others. And we'll always have to be there to stop them. But after this, there will be peace for a time. And in that time, we'll be together. I promise. Wanna know how I know?"

"…Because you trust me?" he answered.

"Because I trust you," she confirmed. "Because I know that you'll make the world safe for us to live in. You do it everyday. I'm really lucky you know? Not every girl has a hero that loves them."

"Not every hero has a guardian angel that loves them," he replied.

She smiled warmly. "I love you, Trunks Brief."

"I love you, Shell Waters," he said, smiling back. "And when this is all over, I'm going to be with you."

"I know," she replied. "Before we have to go, I want you to know that I got to meet your friends and family up here. And mine, too. My mom and dad were so happy to see me. And your dad… Vegeta is his name, right? He's kinda grumpy. But he's proud of you. I can tell."

Trunks felt his stomach twist and knot.

"They're all proud of you," she continued. "For the sacrifices you make. That's how I know that I'm lucky to have you. I love you, and I'll be waiting to see you again."

"Soon," he said tearfully. "I'll bring you back. And I'll never give up."

They both smiled, tears falling off of both their faces. They kissed one another lightly, and then slowly, Shell began to fade away into the light.

"I love you…" her voice resonated behind.

As she disappeared, Trunks was left still kissing the air where she had been. Even without the shell necklace, Trunks could feel her presence all around him. He smiled, taking in the sun and air and warmth around him. Things didn't turn out exactly how he had wanted them to, but just ten minutes of being with Shell for real was worth all the time he had spent in space trying to find the Dragon Balls.

For the first time in months, he felt at peace. He turned around slowly, his smile still on his face. It was almost as though he had an outward glow. Shell's radiance shown through him, and it made him at peace, finally, with the entire universe.

"Where's Avien?" he asked Dende.

"She went back to the ship," he answered.

Trunks knew what was wrong with her. But it wasn't something he could do anything about right then.

"We don't have much time," Trunks said with a new found confidence. "Dende, I need you to summon the dragon."

In accordance, Dende uttered a long string of native Namekian words, and the Dragon Balls began to glow bright yellow. The sunlight faded, and dark clouds overtook the skies. The entire area around the Saiyan and Namekian became dark, and with a powerful sound of lightning and thunder, a giant dragon emerged from the Dragon Balls before them. The menacing, horned dragon must have been over a mile in length. Its massive wings spread at least half its overall length in each direction. It glared down upon its two summoners with enormous, red eyes.

"You, who have gathered my seven Dragon Balls, I shall grant you any one wish that you may desire," it said with a deep, booming voice. "Speak now, so that your wish may be granted."

"Dende," Trunks instructed, "tell the dragon that we want Gohan to be brought back to life and returned to the spot where he died. Make sure to specify both of those directives in the wish."

Dende nodded, and began to translate all that Trunks had wished for into the Namekian tongue. After he had finished, he waited for the dragon's response.

"This wish is granted," the Eternal Dragon announced to them.

Immediately, his eyes lit up a bright red, and his entire mile-long body emitted a golden glow. With another clap of thunder and lightning, the dragon disappeared back into the Dragon Balls. Together, all seven orbs floated high into the sky and departed in seven different directions around the planet. With the balls gone, the skies and clouds resumed their normal state, and everything went on as it had.

"Wow!" Dende exclaimed. "I haven't seen the Eternal Dragon since the day Frieza invaded our first planet! That was amazing!"

Trunks admitted that the entire process was impressive.

"Dende," he said urgently. "It's time to go. Get on board the ship; we have to get to Earth quickly."

Together, they ran back on board Trunks' space ship and closed the hull door behind them.


	15. Chapter 15: Setting Things Straight

Chapter 15: Setting Things Straight

Back on board, Trunks went to the cockpit so that he could concentrate. It was no easy feat teleporting the spaceship and all its inhabitants to another planet. Dende had left him when they reached the navigation deck, one floor below, but he had not seen Avien anywhere on the ship. He sighed inwardly. He knew she must be mad at him, but he didn't have time to address it right then.

He sat for a moment, concentrating hard, preparing for the maneuver. He was interrupted by the movements of someone behind him. He relaxed, and exhaled deeply.

"You could have told me," Avien's voice said from behind him.

He hesitated for a moment. "I did tell you," he stated.

"That you were in love?" she asked angrily.

"I told you that a monster killed those I loved," he explained. "Shell was one it killed. Why did you think I told you not to kiss me, Avien?"

"Not everyone can read minds," she said bitterly.

"It was pretty obvious," Trunks argued.

Avien began to cry.

Trunks sighed and kicked himself for wording it like that.

"Avien," he said softly as he turned his chair around. "I promised you that I would help you bring back those killed on your planet, and that I would protect you. But I never said that I could offer you what you want from me. I owe you a lot. You saved my life today. But I can't be what you want me to be. I'm sorry."

"Your girlfriend is never going to get along with me now," Avien said, drying her tears with her hands.

"I'm sure Shell would thank you for keeping me alive," he corrected. "And for protecting me. Like I said, I owe you an awful lot, Avien."

She managed a rough laugh as she sniffed. "You have a lot of people who love you, Trunks," she said with a shaky smile.

He took her words to heart, but couldn't manage to reply to them. A part of him wished that she had never gotten involved. At least that way she wouldn't hurt like she did now.

"If there's one thing that I've learned," he finally decided to say to her, "it's that sometimes the things that you wanted to work out don't. But because they don't work out, you find something better later on. Some one really special to me once said that no matter how bad things get, something good will always come out of it."

"She told you that, huh?" Avien inferred.

"Yeah," he answered. "One day long ago when we were both happy. Just because I can't offer you what you want, doesn't mean you won't find it one day. I promise."

"You're sweet," she said after a moment. "Shell really is lucky. There aren't many men left in the universe like you."

"There's more than you think," he replied with a smile.

She laughed lightly and walked over and kissed him on his forehead.

"Well, if you see any," she told him. "Let me know."

He smiled at her remark.

"We need to get back to Earth now, right?" she suggested.

"Yeah," he agreed. "They really need us there."

"So we're straight?" she asked, regaining her cool composure.

Trunks raised an eyebrow and smiled. "We're straight."

"Cool," she said with a smile. "Now get us out of here."

With a few moments concentration, they were on their way back to Trunks' home.


	16. Chapter 16: Earth's Darkest Hour

Chapter 16: Earth's Darkest Hour

Leon looked out across the city in the fleeting sunlight. For the past two days he had searched the planet desperately for anyone that could possibly help him defend the Earth. It had been a vain search. Despite his best efforts, he knew that there was no one left on Earth with a power level high enough to even match his own, let alone convince him that they could fight a war.

After being unable to find anyone suitable for his needs, Leon had returned to the mansion early and told Bulma of everything he had learned from the Supreme Kai. Being used to preparing for a lot on short notice, Bulma began preparing her underground shelter for the upcoming storm. Naturally she had asked him about Trunks' whereabouts. It was a question that, as usual, went unanswered. He felt terrible for a mother to have to endure such things, but it was out of his control.

The sun was setting, and it was time for Shin to return. Leon waited patiently for the Supreme Kai to appear nearby. He hoped that the old Kai had managed to find a small army of warriors and bring them back with him. But knowing their luck, he decided that if he didn't expect much, then the worst thing that could happen was he just wouldn't be surprised. Somehow, it didn't make him feel any better.

"It's sunset," Leon said to himself. "Where are you Supreme Kai?"

He turned to head back into the mansion. As he reached the balcony door, he felt the wind pick up slightly and looked over his shoulder curiously. In the blink of an eye, the Supreme Kai appeared out of nowhere with two people, one on either side of him. Leon stopped and turned around to face them, looking over the two newcomers with a quick glance.

The man to the right of the Supreme Kai was much taller than Leon, probably around 6'8" or so. He had grey skin and dark, almost black hair. His eyes were dark colored, and he wore a dark blue, open vest with black pants of an alien fashion. He wore black gloves and boots as well. The man to Shin's left was a giant, maybe 7'10" and his shoulders appeared to be nearly four feet wide! He wore no shirt, exposing the girth of his immense frame, and wore white, sage-like pants with brown shoes similar to those worn by ancient monks. His skin was white, his eyes and hair a matching red color. Together, Leon felt their power levels were more than formidable.

"Leon," Shin introduced. "I would like you to meet Garice and Baleck, of the southern galaxy. They have agreed to help us defend the Earth from the Saiyan invasion."

Leon subconsciously assigned the names to each of the warriors; Baleck being the warrior with grey skin and dark hair, and Garice being the giant with red hair.

"Thank you both," he said gratefully. "But I'm sorry to say that I haven't had the same luck while your were gone, Supreme Kai."

"Yes," he said understandingly, "yes, I know. But don't worry, we'll be fine."

"Four on an invasion force?" Leon asked curiously. "And we've got no idea how large their task force is. It could very easily be four against thousands, possibly tens of thousands, Supreme Kai."

"That's very possible," Shin agreed. "But we still have a few opportunities open to us."

"I don't know," Leon countered. "Trunks still hasn't returned. So first off we don't have a chance without him. Secondly, there's the actual Saiyan warriors to deal with. Even if their task force is a joke, we still have the potential of running into a Super Saiyan or twelve. We don't know, and there's no way to be sure. Are you prepared to fight twelve of Trunks?"

Shin didn't answer.

"I don't believe this is a fight that we can win," Leon said finally. "The best we can do is alert the military, but I don't know if they would even believe us. Not until the Saiyans show up on radar, and by that time it will be too late."

"We came here to fight," Baleck interjected. "Not to surrender."

Garice nodded in agreement.

"Leon," Shin reasoned, "think of all the times before that our chances were slim. They almost always are. But that does not justify our actions of despair. You know as well as I do that we must try. With or without Trunks' help."

"But don't you remember what happened last time, Supreme Kai?!" Leon asked, raising his voice. "Shell died! She died because we didn't wait for Trunks. And now we're doing the same thing again."

"Shell died protecting others," Shin said firmly. "You both knew that you couldn't win that day. But she still was determined to keep others safe until Trunks got back. So were you."

"I'm just tired of watching my friends die," Leon said quietly.

"Then let us do something about it," Shin replied. "Trunks will be back in time. And with him and others, we will defend this planet from whatever awaits us in the stars. I promise."

"How much time do you think we have left?" Leon asked.

"I don't know at this point," Shin replied. "A day or two, perhaps more, perhaps less."

They walked into the room just inside the balcony to discuss it. Together they sat down in the gathered chairs and couches.

"Do you think Trunks will be back by then?" Leon asked.

"I've had some trouble sensing him lately," Shin admitted. "He seems to be moving around the universe quite frequently."

Leon sighed aloud. "I don't like it," he said. "We need more help."

Suddenly, he felt a massive power level approaching. He jumped to his feet.

"Holy shit!" he shouted. "Supreme Kai, do you feel that?"

Likewise, Shin also stood up. "Yes," he agreed, "yes, I do… but that is…"

Baleck and Garice both stood up and prepared for an attack, but Shin raised his arms halting them.

"Is it possible…?" he asked.

It was now dark, and the shadow of a figure about Leon's height landed on the balcony and slowly moved towards the door. They all looked on in amazement, petrified by the shear size of the man's power level, which he made no effort in hiding. As he stepped into the light of the room, Leon beheld a man in a red fighting gi with a dark blue undershirt and boots and wristbands. His hair was jet black and it stood straight up in a spiked pattern with one thick strand hanging down over his right eye.

"Supreme Kai," the man said as he entered the room. "It's good to be back. Have you seen Trunks?"

Shin's face lit up and he smiled broadly. "Welcome home, Gohan," he said. "It's a great pleasure to have you back. We're still waiting for him to return."

"Shell said she'd meet him on your planet and convince him to revive me instead of her," Gohan explained. "I imagine that he must've gotten at least as far as the Kai planet if I'm alive again."

"Yes, I see," Shin agreed.

He remained quiet for a moment, sensing the far reaches of space for his home planet.

"Trunks isn't there," Shin announced after a few moments of meditation.

"Then where could he be?" Leon asked quickly.

Shin paused for a moment, feeling another power level rivaling Gohan's close by.

"He's here…" the Supreme Kai said softly.

Behind him, the door to the room from the mansion opened with a typical hiss. Gohan smiled, and the other four turned to see Trunks standing next to a girl and a Namekian. The three of them looked like hell; their clothes and armor were ripped and torn, and they all had signs of battle about them.

"Sorry we're late," Trunks apologized. "It was quite a ride getting here."

"Trunks!" Leon shouted, running over to his best friend.

Trunks welcomed him with open arms, and Leon hugged him lovingly the second he was within reach.

"I'm so glad you're back, man!" Leon welcomed.

"Yeah, me too," Trunks replied cheerfully. "I'm sorry I left without you, Leon. I should never have. I really could have used your help up there."

"It's alright," Leon said letting go of the Saiyan. "Earth needed my help while you were gone too, so it's probably better I stayed. Besides, if it was anything you couldn't handle, it's a safe bet I couldn't have."

Trunks left it at that rather than trying to explain everything that he meant; it was a long story, and they didn't have time for it. He moved with Leon, Avien, and Dende into the midst of the room. He walked forward and stood before Gohan. Silently, he outstretched his hand. Gohan took it, and they both pulled each other into a hug.

"It's good to have you back, Brother," Trunks said with a warm smile and loving hug.

"Likewise, little Brother," Gohan replied. "Who's not so little anymore, huh? Wow, if I've been dead all these years, then you're almost as old as me now, huh?"

Trunks answered with a light nod, his smile never faultering.

"Oh yeah," he said, remembering. "Guys, this is Avien and Dende. They helped me out in getting the Dragon Balls. If it weren't for them, neither me nor Gohan would be here."

"Dende?" Gohan asked. "Dende, that's you? Wow, you've grown too!"

"Yeah, it's good to see you again, Gohan," the Namekian replied. "I never forgot the courage and bravery you showed on Namek when we fought Frieza. I'm very proud to find myself fighting along side you once again."

As he said it, Dende moved forward and shook hands with his long-time friend.

"I can feel that your power level is enormous, too!" Gohan complimented. "I'm impressed."

"We should have no problem fighting off the Saiyans now," Gohan said confidently. "What do you think, Supreme Kai?"

Shin nodded, visibly content with the situation at hand. "Leon," he said turning to his human friend. "I think Fate has just tipped in our favor."

For lack of anything better as a comeback, Leon shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay, fair enough. I stand pretty damn corrected."

They laughed together and began to prepare for the battle ahead.


End file.
